Dakar - South Africa has solidified its trade relations with Senegal by pledging to combine Robben Island and former slave camp Goree Island.
The project is part of the South African embassy in Dakar’s effort to understand the history and culture of Senegal.
South African Ambassador in Senegal, Abel Mxolisi Shilubane, together with the Head of Brand South Africa for Africa and the Middle East, Sindiswa Mququ, announced that in 2017, South Africa and Senegal would commemorate 30 years since leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) in exile and Afrikaner experts in culture, religion and civil society met at Goree Island in Dakar.
Shilubane said: “We are working really hard with Senegal’s arts and culture ministry. We are going to begin preparations for the Goree Island and Robben Island project. Our suffering is the same. We also want to use theatre to show the similarities of Senegalese and South Africans.
“The meeting of the ANC and Afrikaner leaders at Goree Island led to political transformation in South Africa. We will have that moment next year with Senegalese delegates,” said Shilubane.
Shilumane said it was an important step to strengthen ties between South Africa and Senegal by pairing Goree Island with Robben Island.
In Dakar this week, the South African Embassy and Arts and Culture Ministry, including creative artists, gathered to discuss the importance of heritage and the arts in the two developing economies.
The dialogue was premised on the African Union’s Agenda 2063 pledge to focus on the continent’s cultural identity, common heritage and values.
Marketing agency, Brand South Africa collaborated with the South African Embassy in Dakar to promote exchanges between the two countries.
Petrus de Kock, Brand South Africa research general manager, said Africans needed to look at how the continent’s economy, environment and the people were positioned in order to grow.
“All of us are obsessed with trade and business, but we found that some South African companies in other parts of the world face challenges in business because they do not understand the history and culture of that country.
“It’s important that before we do business we commit to understanding the heritage of a country so that we are able to interact with businesses,” said De Kock
De Kock emphasized that the pairing of Senegal’s former slave camp, Goree Island, and South Africa’s Robben Island would be an important aspect of history.
“Brand South Africa also plans to engage with the economic affairs department at the Senegal Embassy in South Africa to do research on why there is low bilateral trade between south Africa and Senegal, by first understanding the people and culture.
“This will lead us to also understand the perceptions of Senegalese about South Africans in business. The cultural engagement is important because if you have a better understanding of a country’s language it makes it easier to do business with each other,” added De Kock.
African News Agency
* Use IOL’s Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.