Premier Winde Returns

Premier Alan Winde recently returned from a productive 10-day official visit to the United States of America (USA), cementing important relationships with a key trade partner to South Africa and the Western Cape. During a time of heightened diplomatic strain, the Western Cape Government has continuously sought to protect and drive investment, growth and jobs in the province.

During his visit, the Premier held high level engagements with key government and private sector stakeholders in Washington D.C., Atlanta, and New York City. The Premier was joined by a delegation from the Western Cape Government and representation from Wesgro.

The visit commenced with a briefing from trade representatives at the South African Embassy. Given the importance of US investments and trade to the Western Cape’s economy, the Premier offered his full support to ongoing negotiation efforts between South Africa and the USA in order to ensure the region can continue to play its part in securing the best deal possible for our province and country.

“Growing the economy to create more jobs is our apex priority in the Western Cape, and our trade relations with the USA are of critical importance. We embarked on this visit to further nurture our long-standing relationships with various US stakeholders, and to continue to safeguard and promote these relationships in the interests of our residents. The USA is a key market for Western Cape exports and a substantial source of investment into our province, and we will fight to make sure that we keep our mutually-beneficial trade ties open and growing,” said Premier Winde.

In Washington D.C., the Western Cape Government delegation also held engagements with representatives of the US State Department, US Foreign Affairs Committee, American Chamber of Commerce, and World Bank. The delegation was warmly received – evidence of the goodwill and strong relations the province has worked to established over the years.

The USA is the province’s second-largest export market, with Western Cape exports totaling over R18,32 billion in 2024 – a 2.66% increase from the previous year. The Western Cape now accounts for over 50% of South Africa’s total agriculture and agri-processing goods to the United States. Therefore, advocating for the protection of this key job-creating industry was high on the agenda. Other important local industries include boat-building and satellite component manufacturing.

The USA is also a key source of investment for the Western Cape and was the lead source market for foreign direct investments in the province over the past decade. Sixty-two projects benefitted from a total capital expenditure of over R29 billion between 2015 and 2024, covering several sectors including communications, software and IT services, business services, food and beverages, and pharmaceuticals.

While the current challenges between South Africa and the USA on trade at the national level are recent developments, the Western Cape continues to enjoy robust relationships on the state-to-province level that date back many years.

In Atlanta, the Premier and his delegation held productive engagements with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, representatives of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, and Delta Air Lines.

The Western Cape and the State of Georgia have enjoyed formal bilateral relations since 2014, signing an agreement of strategic cooperation with a focus on collaboration in agriculture; tourism, trade, and investment promotion; as well as renewable energy. These meetings helped to cement this long-standing relationship and pursue further collaboration and opportunities for growth and jobs. Georgia has also committed to sending a delegation to the 12th Regional Leaders Summit that the Western Cape will host in November.

Tourism is a key growth sector for the Western Cape. The province welcomed a total of 163 303 tourists from the USA in 2024 alone, marking an impressive year-on-year growth rate of 16.45%, highlighting the importance of this market. Delta Air Lines currently has three direct flights to Cape Town every week, and in an engagement with the company, the Premier was pleased to confirm that this will be increased to five weekly flights at the end of October.

“This is how we create jobs – by growing trade, tourism, and foreign direct investment. I am thrilled that Delta will be increasing its direct flights this summer. This is an important conduit for flying goods and people in and out of our province. We know that one job is created or sustained for every 10 tourists who visit our province, and more flights ultimately lead to more growth, jobs, and prosperity for our people. It was pleasing to note Delta’s confidence in our destination and their willingness to work towards making daily flights to Cape Town possible in the near future,” said Premier Winde.

In New York City, Premier Winde received briefing updates on trade negotiations at the South African Consulate. From there, he held numerous engagements and bilateral meetings relating to Climate Week NYC.

Premier Winde briefed a gathering of business leaders, hosted by the Water Resilience Coalition, on lessons the province learned from “Day Zero”, in which Cape Town and the Western Cape were able to avoid disaster from a severe drought. He also joined the Under2 Coalition Global Ministerial, where he serves as co-chair representing the African continent. This important regional organisation is made up of 183 states and regions leading on climate action. Premier Winde also signed up to the Subnational Methane Action Coalition with a focus on landfill management to reduce this harmful gas, responsible for approximately 10% of the province’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“The increased severity of droughts, fires and floods in our province highlights how the Western Cape is affected by climate change. We are committed to playing our part as a region, learning from others while also sharing our own best practices. There was huge interest in our water strategy in the face of severe droughts experienced in other regions, as well as our energy plan focused on renewable energy investment to meet our current and future energy needs. Current data shows that we should meet our 2035 target of generating 5 700MW by 2032 and will be able to export energy to other provinces in what is quickly becoming yet another success story for the Western Cape. Ultimately, we see energy and water security as critical in our pursuit of jobs and growth,” concluded the Premier.