Governor Sandoval's 'Nevada in Africa' trade mission wraps up in Durban, South Africa
DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA — Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval’s trade mission to Africa concluded on Friday in the coastal city of Durban, South Africa. Durban, also known as eThekwini Municipality, is home to the largest and busiest shipping terminal in sub-Saharan Africa.
The third and final leg of the mission was highlighted by meetings Thursday with Mayor Cllr Zandile Gumede, Kwazulu Natal Premier Thembinkosi Willies Mchunu, Kwazulu Natal Minister of the Executive Council for Finance Belinda Francis Scott, and U.S. Consul General Sherry Zalika Sykes.
A tour of the Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone, which was established to promote international trade, followed. There the delegation visited the Dube AgriZone facilities, which specialize in technical support for propagating, growing, packing and distributing perishables and horticultural products for export, and the Dube AgriLab, a micro-propagation facility of high quality disease-free plants through sterile tissue culture. Indoor agriculture, which uses less water and land, is an emerging industry in Nevada.
On Friday, the delegation toured Transnet Port of Durban, which handles up to 31.4 million tons of cargo each year.
“When you visit facilities such as the Dube TradePort and Transnet Port of Durban, it really opens your eyes to the potential benefits of closer ties between Nevada and Durban, as well as the other communities we visited over the past week,” Governor Sandoval said. “I hope this mission lays the foundation for growing commerce between Nevada, South Africa and Ghana and results in greater prosperity for all our people and I thank the Governor’s Office of Economic Development for taking the lead in organizing this mission.”
“As we’ve seen with other successful trade missions, there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction for building enduring relationships between Nevada and our international trading partners,” said GOED Executive Director Paul Anderson. “I look forward to hosting our new friends from Ghana and South Africa in Nevada and further solidifying opportunities for collaboration and commerce.”
About the Governor’s Office of Economic Development
Created during the 2011 session of the Nevada Legislature, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development is the result of a collaborative effort between the Nevada Legislature and Governor Brian Sandoval to restructure economic development in the state. GOED’s role is to promote a robust, diversified and prosperous economy in Nevada, to stimulate business expansion and retention, encourage entrepreneurial enterprise, attract new businesses and facilitate community development. More information on the Governor’s Office of Economic Development can be viewed at www.diversifynevada.com.
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