TIKZN manager honoured by Indian Consulate

2023-03-21 10:42:00

Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal's Gauteng Manager has been recognised with a merit award by the Consulate General of India in Johannesburg, cementing the fruitful trade and investment relations between the province and the Asian country.

Donnee Kruger was among 10 women who were honoured at the consulate's International Women's Day celebration recently. She was bestowed the Merit Award for Achievement and Accomplishment in Trade and Investment by Consul General Mahesh Kumar.  

“I am grateful to the Consulate General for the recognition and am proud to make a contribution to efforts to bring investment and facilitate trade with KZN,” said Kruger. “I appreciate the support of TIKZN, Gauteng Office team, TIKZN colleagues, clients and customers for assisting trade and investment efforts. I am very proud of TIKZN and the work it does as well as other practitioners in trade and investment that are just as deserving. This award is motivation to strive for excellence and work harder to contribute to foreign direct investment attraction in South Africa,” she added.  

Congratulating Kruger, Neville Matjie, TIKZN Chief Executive Officer said; “The diplomatic corps plays a vital role as the link between us and companies in their countries looking to invest in KZN, their support goes a long way in endorsing KwaZulu-Natal as a trade and investment partner to businesses in that country. TIKZN has taken business missions to India annually since 2006, so we have a particularly good and long-standing relationship with strong economic ties. Well done to Donnee on this recognition, we are proud of the work that she and her team are doing to build and maintain fruitful relations with the diplomatic corps,” said Matjie.

India and South Africa have a bilateral trade agreement that came into effect in 1997. The two countries have been working to increase trade between them and have a target of $15 billion in bilateral trade by 2023. In 2019-2020, bilateral trade between India and South Africa stood at $10.2 billion.

India SA/KZN trade and investment facts

•  India is South Africa's fifth-largest export destination, and fourth-largest import origin and is the second-largest trading partner in Asia.
• Main sectors Indian companies invests in in South Africa:  pharmaceuticals, IT, automobiles, and mining.
• Main sectors South African companies invest in in India: mining, telecoms, and financial services.
• The top exported products from KwaZulu-Natal to India include mineral products, machinery and mechanical appliances, metals, organic chemicals and vehicles.
• KZN has a provincial agreement with Punjab, India to promote economic development.