They have been invited by German companies in South Africa because their scarce skills are not readily available in South Africa.

1. Press Release
July 15, 2020
Arrival of German technical experts to South Africa
During the lockdown in SA, many businesses had come to a halt.
With the easing of the lockdown in certain sectors companies have
resumed their operations, albeit on a reduced level. They are now
preparing for a further ramp-up of their operations while tackling
critical maintenance or important upgrading projects. Many of these
projects require special expert knowledge that is not available on
the ground.
In close cooperation the Foreign Ministers Naledi Pandor and Heiko
Maas supported the efforts of the South-African – German
Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Lufthansa and the German
Embassy together with the relevant South African authorities to
enable a solution of the most pressing needs. On Thursday, July
16, a special Lufthansa flight is due to arrive from
Frankfurt/Germany in Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International
Airport. On board are engineers, technicians and other experts
whose skills are urgently needed to help get the economy going
and South African exports rolling again.
They have been invited by German companies in South Africa
because their scarce skills are not readily available in South Africa
and the essential services they can provide i.e. to upgrade high-
tech production facilities in the Eastern Cape or assist ESKOM in
maintaining and upgrading their fleet of power plants.
German Ambassador Martin Schäfer said before departing to South
Africa on the same flight in Frankfurt:
“We are in this together! Only if and when the coronavirus is
defeated in the north, south, east and west, will we all be able to
return to a new normal that resembles at least somewhat the lives
we lived before the global crisis.
ADDRESS
201 Florence Ribeiro Avenue
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Pretoria 0083
South Africa
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info@pret.diplo.de
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Twitter : @GermanEmbassySA

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We will get there through sharing know-how and experiences, with
cooperation and solidarity.
The experts of German companies operating in South Africa will
hopefully make their valuable contribution to kick-start the South
African economy and reigniting exports of high-tech products
proudly ‘Made in South Africa’.
We are all extremely grateful for the exemplary, trustful and
amicable partnership with the South African government and so
many different stakeholders, and in particular with Ministers Naledi
Pandor and Ebrahim Patel and their great teams. It was and it is a
strong team effort. And we will make sure we deserve the trust that
has been bestowed upon us”.
Tim Abbott; CEO of BMW South Africa and President of the South
African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry:
"We would like to thank German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and
his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor, as well as all the other
relevant South African Ministers for their cooperation in ensuring
this significant outcome. This is a great step forward in advancing
large and medium scale projects that will have a direct and critical
economic impact on the country. It is important that the good
technical co-operation between SA and German companies
continues so that we overcome the corona pandemic and the
negative impact on our economy as fast as possible. We are
confident that this early reintegration of German expats will help to
get the economy back on its feet as fast as possible and long term it
will protect jobs”.
“The Lufthansa Group is pleased to be partnering with the German
Embassy and the German Business Community in South Africa on
these repatriation flights. Now more than ever it remains essential
to reinforce the connection between Germany and South Africa and
to demonstrate Lufthansa’s commitment to its customers in the
South African market. It gives us pleasure to assist in returning
South African nationals back home, while bringing international
technical experts and engineers from Europe to South Africa”, says
Dr. André Schulz, General Manager Sales, Lufthansa Group,
Southern Africa & East Africa.
Media Enquiries:
Steffen Scholz
Press Section
German Embassy Pretoria
Phone: +27 (0) 78 096 0172
E-Mail: steffen.scholz@diplo.de