Johannesburg, South Africa, 08/21 - South Africa and Croatia on Friday signed a trade agreement to facilitate business relations between companies in the two countries.
Speaking during the signing ceremony in Pretoria, South Africa`s trade and industry minister Mandisi Mpahlwa described the trade agreement as a significant step towards strengthening bilateral trade relations between South Africa and Croatia.
Mpahlwa expressed the determination by the two countries to use the bilateral engagements to strengthen the multilateral trading system.
"The agreement broadly commits the two countries to raise the profile of South Africa-Croatia relations as well as to establish an inter-governmental committee on trade for the effective implementation of the agreement," Mpahlwa stated.
He said the two countries would grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment to each other in accordance with the principles contained in the World Trade Organisation agreement.
Meanwhile, the Croatian foreign minister, Miomir Zuzu, said his country and South Africa and Croatia were relatively newly established democracies with similar developmental challenges.
According to him, it is in these new economies where opportunities for growth are very high and the development of modern technologies is inevitable, as more and more of the multinational corporations relocate to their markets.