German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with President Jacob Zuma, calling South Africa “one of the most important partners on the African continent”, France24 reported. Germany is SA’s second-most important trading partner, with more than 600 German firms active in the country. Bilateral relations, Merkel said, were “very good.” Zuma said South Africa recognizes the importance of and remains open to foreign direct investment. The president‚ addressing a function of South African and German business people in Berlin‚ Tuesday night‚ indicated that this openness is reflected in the stock of FDI in South Africa that now accounts for around 42% of the country’s gross domestic product. “Inward flows also continue to grow and over the last five years South Africa accounted for the bulk of new investment projects in Africa with investment arriving from the US‚ member states of the EU‚ from China‚ India and other Asian countries‚“ Zuma said. He said South Africa was encouraged by the World Economic Forum’s Annual Global Competitiveness Report 2015/16‚ in which South Africa climbed seven places from 56 to 49 out of 140 countries.
