CM meets Premier of Gauteng province of South Africa

Bhopal: On the third day of his South Africa visit, Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan met the Premier (Chief Minister) of Gauteng province Shri Maemolla David Makhura and his council of ministers and held detailed discussions on investment in Madhya Pradesh. Those present on the occasion included Minister for Economic Development Shri Lebogang Maile, Minister for Finance Smt. Barbara Creecy and Minister for Roads and Transport Shri Ismail Vadi. Gauteng provice is the largest economy in South Africa and has the largest population. Shri Makhura said that Gauteng province and Madhya Pradesh had a lot of mutual synergies. The two Chief Ministers held detailed discussions on processing and value addition of minerals in beneficiation sector, agro processing and value addition in agriculture sector and urban transport system. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan informed that Madhya Pradesh is exploring the possibility of introducing metro train and is interested in drawing the rich experience of South Africa. During discussions on development sector, Chief Minister of Gauteng province Shri Makhura informed that Gauteng is very interested in learning from Indian experience in training its youths. Social development and women’s empowerment also came up for discussion. The Gauteng government also desired to learn as to how Madhya Pradesh is ensuring women’s empowerment and upliftment by working at grassroot level with social and non-government organisations. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan requested to create a mechanism for long term relationship with Gauteng. He requested Shri Mukhura to send a delegation to Madhya Pradesh during Global Investors Summit in October. The Chief Minister was also interested in sending a farmers delegation from Madhya Pradesh to Gauteng to learn about the processing and value addition in agriculture commodities and to share the success stories in respect of consistently high agriculture growth rates year on year. The Premier of Gauteng accepted the invitation and assured that he will try to send a delegation to Madhya Pradesh. Interactive session with investors: The Chief Minister held an interactive session with investors at Johannesburg. Co-convener of African National Congress (ANC)’s Progressive Business Forum Shri Daryl Swanepoel was the guest of honour on the occasion. A short audio-visual highlighting the strengths and opportunities in Madhya Pradesh was shown to the gathering which comprised prominent industrialists from Johannesburg like Ngwenya Hotels, Mpumalanaga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA), Mandla Tech, Mokulubete, Scio Diamong Africa, the Palace Group, Ratehong Projects, Gebene Engineering, Salt Caves & Utembezi Investments. In the audio-visual presentation, opportunities offered by Madhya Pradesh to investors and inherent strengths of the state in land, power, water and technical manpower were highlighted. Shri Swanepoel highlighted the synergy areas between Madhya Pradesh and South Africa in renewable energy, green economy, transport, manufacturing, tourism, mining, agriculture and infrastructure. He said that both Madhya Pradesh and South Africa have huge challenges in poverty and unemployment and can be mutual worked upon. After the session, Chief minister Shri Chouhan replied to queries of investors. He informed that the enhancement of irrigation areas and the proper seed replacement, as well as the adoption of new and scientific methods of agriculture have resulted in the significant boost in agriculture production in the state. In reply to a question regarding social sector, the Chief Minister said that social development is at the heart of the government with a strong focus on women’s empowerment, education and public health and this cannot be completed without the NGOs. Meeting with Minister for Commerce and Industries of Gauteng: Chief Minister Shri Chouhan also met Minister for Commerce and Trade of Gauteng province Shri Rob Davis at Pretoria. The Chief Minister informed Shri Davis about specialities of Madhya Pradesh. Shri Rob Davis welcomed the idea of sending a delegation to South Africa by Madhya Pradesh to explore new opportunities and cement ties.