Moscow: AfricUpdate – News Desk
Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, met with representatives of the South African Business Council in the UAE to review opportunities to expand trade, investmentб and private sector collaboration between the two countries. This is reported by Emirates News Agency (WAM), a partner of TV BRICS. Discussions noted that the UAE’s non-oil trade with South Africa reached US$8.5 billion in 2024, a 14% increase compared to 2023 and a 120% rise since 2019. In the first half of 2025, non-oil trade totalled US$3.93 billion. South Africa is now the UAE’s second-largest non-oil trade partner in Africa.
Al Zeyoudi underlined areas of cooperation in food security, logistics, infrastructure, tourism and renewable energy, and said that joint projects could support economic growth and sustainable development. The talks also addressed ways to encourage greater private sector involvement on both sides. More than 3,690 South African companies currently operate in the UAE, across sectors such as construction, hospitality, and financial services.
