By Bongiwe Dlamini

ITALY:Mancoba Khumalo, the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade has urged Italian investors to consider establishing businesses in eSwatini.

The Minister was speaking during an Investment Seminar hosted by the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority(EIPA) in Rome-Italy this week,Khumalo is part of the King’s delegation attending the World Food Forum, Government online platforms reported on Wednesday.

“To optimise our presence in Italy, we have decided to host this business seminar to provide a closer engagement environment with Italian and by Extension European investors who have an interest to do business with Eswatini either through foreign direct investments or through sourcing some products made in Eswatini.The Eswatini government has endeavoured to work with speed to create a compelling environment for businesses to thrive in Eswatini. Currently, we are host to a number of Italian businesses in various sectors including construction, engineering design, manufacturing, textile, hardware, and industrial tools.We wish to build on Italian expertise and know-how by adding more Italian businesses to operate in Eswatini. We assure you that your businesses can immensely benefit by establishing their operations in Eswatini to access the African Continental Free Trade Area. This can be achieved to a greater extent, by having production facilities in Eswatini and using our efficient logistics to access the regional and continental markets. We recently concluded our strategy to penetrate the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and our related institutions such as the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA) would assist to unpack the great potential presented by this market,” said the Commerce Minister.