Italy will, if requested, be ready to help South Africa with safety and security issues during the 2010 World Cup, its Deputy Prime Minister, Massimo D’Alema, said on Tuesday.
”We have no request yet, but we are ready to cooperate for security during the 2010 World Cup,” he said in response to a question on whether Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula had approached Italy for help in training South African police in preparation for the upcoming World Cup.
D’Alema was hosted by Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in Pretoria where bilateral political and economic discussions between the two took place.
Dlamini-Zuma said Italy will help with its ”expertise” when the time comes for the country to host the soccer spectacle.
Both ministers said they recognise that, economically, there is much untapped potential between the two countries. D’Alema said South Africa is an emerging power in which business partnerships are a real and attractive opportunity.
”The presence of our entrepreneurs in the country signal that we are confident in South Africa,” he said.
Trade between the two countries reached R23-billion last year. Car parts, machine tools, industrial machinery, jewellery and telecommunications equipment are among Italy’s offering to South Africa, while South Africa supplies Italy with precious and non-ferrous metal, basic iron and steel, coal and quarried stones.
Working hard
Meanwhile, South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Mandisi Mpahlwa, told delegates at the South African-Italian Business Forum in Johannesburg that the country is working hard to ensure that the World Cup event is a success and that benefits arise from areas such as tourism and investment.
”We are working hard to prepare for 2010 — it’s a major opportunity for tourism and we are working to create the kind of environment that would be able to receive all these visitors and encourage them to come before, during and after the soccer World Cup,” said Mpahlwa.
He also indicated that the event offers enormous investment potential. ”It is also a major investment opportunity for us — for infrastructure, digital migration, public transport etc.
”South Africa is hard at work to ensure we will be ready in all the important respect,” he said.
Senior government officials and more than 120 businesspeople from Italy are in South Africa to develop ties and boost business-to-business partnerships. The World Cup is seen as one of the areas where a business collaboration can be achieved between the countries. — Sapa, I-Net Bridge