The provincial Cabinet has approved the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on agriculture between the Western Cape Government and State of California, USA.
On Friday Minister of Agriculture, Dr Ivan Meyer met with the Acting United States Consul General, Will Stevens, together with his broader team where they discussed key projects, provincial priorities, and potential collaboration opportunities.
“During our engagement,” Meyer related, “we also discussed the Provincial Cabinet’s recent approval of the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), as presented by the Provincial Department of Agriculture, to re-ignite the Provincial Government’s relationship with California in the agricultural sector.”
Similar agreements have been established with the State of Georgia as well as past relationships with the tates of California and Florida. The Western Cape and the State of Georgia are both members of the Regional Leaders’ Forum, a multilateral grouping of seven regions from both developed and developing countries.
Speaking to the nature of the agreement, the Provincial Minister of Agriculture said: “During the discussions, both parties highlighted that the Western Cape province and the State of California are two of the few regions in the world sharing a similar Mediterranean climate.
“The result is that the two regions do share not only similar crops and production systems but also iconic products such as wine and wine tourism.
“However, the implication is that both regions are also prone to similar disasters such as droughts, floods and fires. It follows that exciting synergies can be developed to mitigate the impact of climate change. Therefore, the parties took the decision to develop a formal Memorandum of Agreement on Agriculture as soon as possible,” continued Meyer.
Some of the items on the agenda during the meeting included trade and investment opportunities with key linkages to provincial competitive advantages including agriculture, tech, the green economy, tourism, healthcare and bilateral relations between the Western Cape and sub-national entities within the United States of America.
The Western Cape Government has always enjoyed a strong working relationship with the US Consulate General in Cape Town, and are currently exploring ways in which to engage more.
In 2021 the Western Cape province and US government successfully launched a new Trade and Investment Promotion Partnership through the Minister of Finance of Economic Opportunities, David Maynier, signed a formal government-to-government (G2G) relationship with the Department of Health that will expand USAid support to the province and launched a direct flight between New York and Cape Town in 2019.
The acting consul general noted: “As the Western Cape’s top foreign direct investor, the United States is a key partner for the province in bolstering economic growth.
“Building on the successes of our Trade and Investment Promotion Partnership and our Government-to-Government Partnership in Health, this new MOU with the State of California will further expand the strong ties between the US and South African agricultural sectors, increasing our already robust trade and investment.”
Meyer concluded: “I am pleased that we are continuously strengthening our relationships with our US counterparts primarily through the US Consulate General in Cape Town. I look forward to seeing these relationships go from strength to strength, to the benefit of those we serve.”
