EU supports State-Business Relations Forum in Eswatini

10.06.2021

The European Union fully supports the creation of a State-Business Relations Forum in Eswatini that will help facilitate and provide a platform for continuous engagement between the government and the private sector on common issues that affect business development, economic growth and the investment climate in the country.

EU Ambassador to Eswatini, Esmeralda Hernandez Aragones, said this on 09 June 2021 during the launch of a two-day State-Business Relations workshop supported by the EU and organized by the International Trade Centre (ITC) in collaboration with the Government of Eswatini.

Also present during the launch was the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Manqoba Khumalo who delivered the keynote address.

The workshop, which took place on 10 – 11 June 2021 at Hilton Garden Inn in Mbabane, involved participants from the local private and public sectors as well as international facilitators.

In her address, the EU Ambassador said the envisaged State-Business Relations Forum will help provide a platform for a robust engagement and advocacy between the government and the private sector on specific competitiveness issues that contribute to the promotion of a vibrant export-driven SME (small and medium enterprises) sector, thereby taking advantage of the market opportunities at national, regional, continental and inter-continental levels.

She said a particular focus will be on organizations that represent the interests of small-scale farmers, entrepreneurs, companies and workers with specific focus on women and young people.

“Regular, open, structured, timely and detailed exchanges of information between the state and business are crucial in order to make a correct diagnosis of the private sector’s constraints thus helping government to make the necessary interventions that aim to improve the country’s business environment,” said the Ambassador.

She added that regular and focused interactions between the government and the private sector further help to reduce policy uncertainties. According to the Ambassador, this is because companies are always willing to undertake investment and production decisions based on a better understanding of economic policy and the predictability of rules.