Our 14-member state SADC will also conclude its own negotiations soon to approve a Trade Agreement which will lead to the establishment of a free trade area with a population of 150 million people. We have also begun negotiations with Brazil to conclude a bilateral trade agreement between our two countries. This will be an important stepping stone towards initiating other trade negotiations between SADC and Mercosur. Similar negotiations will also begin soon between ourselves and Nigeria. Already, the rest of Africa constitutes an important trade and investment partner for us, a development that will further be enhanced by the agreement between Nigeria and South Africa.
Discussions are also pending with China and India.
We are also working to ensure that South Africa acts as a hub, the meeting point of trade and other flows in three directions. The recently approved United States Africa Growth Act has also increased the possibility for us further to access the US market. Our Minister of Trade and Industry has already held discussions with the US Secretary for Commerce and various US importers to take advantage of these new opportunities. The principal point I am trying to emphasise is that it clearly make very good sense for business to exploit the fact of the geographic location of South Africa to access various substantial markets, and not only the South African market. Recognising this, for example, all three German automobile manufacturers are already producing motor vehicles in South Africa, destined for export markets as far afield as the US, the UK, Australia and China, to say nothing of the rest of Africa.