The first ever United Nations (UN) Procurement Summit was held in South Africa and hosted more than 500 attendees and 23 exhibitors at the CSIR International Convention Centre on 13 and 14 June 2016.

The aim of the summit was to give the South African defence industry an opportunity to showcase its capabilities to assist the UN in its peacekeeping missions. The CSIR; Denel; Armscor; Aerospace; Maritime and Defence Industries Association of South Africa; as well as the National Defence Industry Council all contributed to making the event possible.

CSIR Group Executive, Dr Rachel Chikwamba, spoke at the summit about how research and development can support supplier development to UN procurement divisions. “The CSIR is unique in its mandate as it is able to choose the areas of focus impacting the lives of South Africans. One of the important focus areas in which the CSIR undertakes research and development, is defence and security,” Chikwamba said.

Other major role-players formed part of the summit, such as: Transnet, Airbus Defence and Space, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Public Enterprises, the Department of Defence and Military Veterans, the Department of Small Business Development, Land Rover and Eskom.

“The summit enabled the CSIR to come forward as a key contributor to peacekeeping efforts and present itself as a supporter of the South African defence industry,” said Chikwamba.