The 17th edition of Africa Down Under (ADU) will be held in Perth, Western Australia, from 4 to 6 September. The event signify the deep connect between Australia and Africa in the mining sector and has emerged as a powerful platform for deliberating Australian-African business relations with focus on mining. ADU is one of the world’s leading gatherings for companies and organizations in mineral exploration and mining services. It has become the largest African-focused mining event held outside the continent. The event will also focus on education and research, health and safety, engineering, transport and logistics since all these components have relevance in the mining operations. The 16th edition of the summit held in 2018 was attended by more than 1 400 delegates from a Africa and had 72 presentations and panel discussions. More than 90 exhibitors displayed their equipment and technologies.
South Africa will be a major participant at the event. The South African government is funding the participation of chosen companies to help them explore export markets. The government hopes that the initiative will help South African companies to secure international markets and increase their production, which in turn will lead to job creation. It may be noted that the bilateral trade between South Africa and Australia rose from R21 billion in 2013 to R28 billion in 2018, with the balance in favor of Australia. Australia was South Africa’s 7th export partner and 5th import partner in 2018 in the Asian region. ADU was held for the first time in 2003 and has since become the must-attend event for any one individual or company seeking to invest in projects in Africa.
