Minister Lynne Brown urges SA cooperation in defence industry with Pakistan

Public enterprises minister Lynne Brown has on Thursday, urged the South African government to come up with a concrete plan to explore areas of cooperation in the defence industry with Pakistan.

South African Defence Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Defence and Industrial Cooperation with Pakistan earlier this year, to provide a platform for increased cooperation and investment opportunities between the two countries.

Speaking after meeting the Pakistan Minister of Defence Production, Rana Tanveer Hussain, in Islamabad on Thursday, Brown said the relations between South Africa and Pakistan remained cordial and dated back more than 60 years when Pakistan was a vocal opposition of apartheid and racial discrimination.

“However, while both our countries have continued to enjoy cordial bilateral and trade relations, I believe that the defence sector remains one area in which our countries have more opportunities to explore cooperation. It is for this reason that we met today,” Brown said.

“We must be able to come up with a concrete plan on how best we can explore all possible areas of cooperation in the defence industry for the benefit of our countries. The partnerships will enable both countries to share experiences and transfer technology, as well as the know-how.”

Brown was in Pakistan as part of her working visit to strengthen country relations and explore cooperation in areas of defence products and services.  She was accompanied by Zwelakhe Ntshepe, group chief executive of Denel and senior departmental and Denel officials.

She said that the South African government views the relations with Pakistan as of great significance and relevance in the current global dynamics.

Two-way trade between the two countries experienced an upward trend since 2007, growing from R2.5-billion to R8-billion in 2016, but is considered to be still relatively low.