City in ‘sister-sister’ talks to grow economic and tourism opportunities

Today, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, Alderman James Vos, facilitated a virtual discussion between representatives of Hangzhou and the Zhejiang Province to reiterate Cape Town’s message that it is open for business.  Read more below:

The meeting was attended by Mr. Du Shigen, the Deputy Director of Hangzhou Foreign Affairs Office; Mr. Zheng Yongbiao, the Deputy Director of Hangzhou Commerce Bureau and Mr. Chen Weihang, the Head of Foreign Investment Department of International Investment Promotion Center, Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province.

‘Today, I had the honour of virtually hosting delegates from our sister City of Hangzhou. It was wonderful to renew acquaintances with like-minded people equally passionate about their city.

‘Our twinning agreement, which goes back to 2015, has allowed us to share international best practice on how to attract trade and investment and has been of mutual benefit to both cities. Trade and investment will continue to help both of our economies to recover and grow in the post Covid-19 future. I have no doubt that exchanging ideas, innovations and investment facilitation practices will be to the economic benefit of both regions,’ said Alderman Vos.

The City of Cape Town entered into Sister City relations with the City of Hangzhou with the hope that the cities could jointly:

• promote communication and cooperation in the fields of economy, tourism and education;
• promote business contacts through two-way investment platform and trades, while also promoting financial cooperation; and
• promote tourism through sharing and exchange of tourist information and practices.

Both cities share a reputation for excellent tourism offerings. Through the continued dialogue, the cities have participated in mutual promotion as tourist destinations. In addition, the two cities share a synergy of being premier educational hubs and have prompted academic and cultural exchange programmes. Today’s discussions focused on investment promotion.

‘As an investment friendly destination, we had the opportunity to share Cape Town’s strategy of investment and facilitation. The City, through Invest Cape Town, our investment promotion portal, and our Investment Facilitation Unit, we are particularly proud that during the pandemic year, we have attracted R11,27 billion in investments and have created over 7 500 new jobs.

‘Globalisation is defined as a phenomenon based on international strategies, which expands business operations worldwide, especially in a post Covid-19 era. It’s an uncertain time to try to grapple with global affairs and therefore understanding how the world has evolved is crucial for future development. The City has entered into partnership agreements with a number of international cities to help establish mutually beneficial relations to promote economic growth through trade and investment with our international counterparts. Our mission is to make Cape Town the go-to-city in Africa for travel and trade.

‘From our discussions today, I can confidently say that as a premier business destination, Cape Town continues to attract significant investment.  The lockdowns – while a necessary and expedient measure – have not been without consequence, yet Cape Town remains a forward-looking globally competitive city that offers great opportunities for investors, with lower cost of operation and access to a sizeable market in the rest of South Africa and Africa,’ said Alderman Vos.