Deputy President Paul Mashatile recently attended the Turkey-Africa Business and Economic Forum in Istanbul to bolster ties with Turkey. Despite South Africa being Turkey's top trade partner in sub-Saharan Africa, bilateral trade remains low at $2 billion in 2024. Experts call for a free trade agreement to unlock greater economic cooperation.
Last week, Deputy President Paul Mashatile led a South African ministerial and business delegation to the biennial Turkey-Africa Business and Economic Forum in Istanbul. The visit aimed to strengthen bilateral relations, including the inaugural meeting of the Binational Commission between the two nations.
South Africa and Turkey established diplomatic relations in 1993. As middle powers, they have made progress in political and diplomatic engagements but lag in economic cooperation. According to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, bilateral trade reached $2 billion and investment $100 million in 2024, despite South Africa being Turkey's largest trade and investment partner in sub-Saharan Africa.
Current trade includes South African exports of coal, gold, chrome, and manganese to Turkey, while imports from Turkey consist of petroleum products, machinery, and textiles. To boost these figures, analysts recommend concluding a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), an idea first proposed during Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's 2011 visit to South Africa.
An FTA would reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers, fostering increased trade, broader market access for companies, attraction of foreign investment, job creation, and enhanced competitiveness, productivity, and innovation. However, South Africa has raised concerns about Turkish goods competing with local manufacturing. As part of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) with Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), South Africa must obtain their consent for such accords due to the shared external tariff.
These issues can be addressed in negotiations. Opportunities exist in energy, where Turkish firms could join South Africa's green energy, transmission lines, and transportation projects. Collaboration could also cover value-added production, critical raw materials like rare earth elements, and leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which spans 1.3 billion people and a $3.4 trillion GDP.
To sustain momentum, policymakers should revitalize the Joint Economic Commission, last held in 2017, for ongoing technical engagement beyond high-level meetings.