Swazi Observer

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BUSINESS COMMUNITY CELEBRATES BRITISH HIGH COMMISSIONâ€™S COMEBACK TO ESWATINI

By Hlengiwe Ndlovu | 2018-04-25

WHEN the British High Commission ceased it’s operations at Eswatini more than 10 years ago, the local business community felt effects of the departure of one of the country’s leading development partners.

With the High Commission’s imminent comeback, the local business community became the first to express sheer delight on such developments, coincidentally officially announced in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit on the day of the country’s 50/50 double celebrations.

One of the key areas of focus for the British High Commission once in Eswatini will be to develop the private sector, Federation of Swaziland Employers and Chamber of Commerce (FSE&CC) President Andrew Le Roux said in an interview yesterday.

Le Roux and other members of the local business community met with a British delegation wherein they learnt that one of the United Kingdom’s key areas of focus once in Eswatini will be to develop the private sector, specifically indigenous companies.

Le Roux said that the High Commission’s comeback to Eswatini will also be punctuated with benefits such as greater ease with doing business with the United Kingdom and negotiating for better trade deals.

“With the High Commission coming to Eswatini, this means that there will be no more be travelling to Maputo or Pretoria for negotiations because the High Commission will be right at our backyard and we will be communicating directly with them,” he said

framework

Furthermore, Le Roux said that it is envisaged that the United Kingdom will use the European Union EPA framework with Eswatini.

“In one of our deliberations, we learnt that the UK is keen on ensuring that Eswatini maintains all benefits of the EU EPA, which is great news for the business community,” he said, describing the EPA as basically being about finding markets for Swazi products as well as capacitating the private sector.

As the Eswatini business community celebrates the High Commission’s return, Le Roux hinted that the EPA could extend to capacity building, finding markets and establishing supporting mechanisms for local businesses.

In the meantime, while small businesses anticipate good things to come out of the High Commission’s return, big industries like sugar will also be better positioned to negotiate for better deals with the UK.

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