South Africa in $100b investment drive  

President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged South Africa’s ambassadors to lead the investment drive in the countries they are posted to in order to meet the needed US$100 billion investment target set by the government.
 The president was speaking at the four-day heads of mission conference that the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation kicked off on Monday in Pretoria.
 “This heads of mission conference takes place at an important moment. For it is you, our diplomats, who must play a pivotal role in driving the message that South Africa is open for business,” Ramaphosa said.
 Themed ‘A New Dawn: Inclusiveness of South Africa’s foreign policy which aims to promote a better South Africa, Africa and world,’ the biennial conference brings together the heads of the country’s diplomatic missions abroad to assess national, regional, continental and global trends and dynamics, and to determine a strategy to be implemented in line with Pretoria’s foreign policy vision and mission.
 The conference also serves as a platform for South Africa’s diplomats to be briefed about progress on government’s programmes and plans.
 Ramaphosa’s call to the envoys to rally investors in their designated countries comes as South Africa gears up for an international investment conference which kicks off on Thursday.
 “It is our missions abroad that are leading our economic diplomacy, that need to ensure that the outcomes of the conference are conveyed around the world, and that are responsible for assisting the expansion of trade and investment links with partner countries,” the president said.