South Africa and Brazil have agreed to interact further on the African Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope. This statement follows a declaration the two countries signed in Pretoria on 9 July, reaffirming their determination to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic level.
The declaration on the establishment of a strategic partnership between Brazil and South Africa was signed between the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and her Brazilian counterpart, Celso Amorim.
At an estimated construction cost of $2,23 billion, the SKA is poised to be by far the largest radio telescope in the world, and consolidate Southern Africa as a major hub for astronomy in the world.
The core of the telescope will be located in Carnarvon in the Northern Cape, with about three antenna stations in Namibia, four in Botswana and one each in Mozambique, Mauritius, Madagascar, Kenya and Zambia. Each antenna station will consist of about 30 individual antennae.
As an international research centre located in Africa, the project is set to help kindle the imaginations of young Africans and inspire them to pursue mathematics and science at school, and to follow careers in science and engineering.
On other science and technology issues of cooperation, the two countries have agreed on include innovation, space science, information and communication technology, nanotechnology, renewable energy, biotechnology, and tropical medicines.
They have also agreed to work bilaterally and with other countries, to create an extensive research programme on the seabed and marine resources of the South Atlantic Ocean. In strengthening human resource development, the two countries will promote the exchange of researchers in the area of astrophysics and earth observations.
On climate change, South Africa and Brazil will collaborate in the implementation of Copenhagen Climate Change Accord and ensure a balance between adaptation and mitigation, as well as between development and climate change.
This includes compliance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and with the Kyoto Protocol to address the problem of climate change meaningfully and to implement the Bali Action Plan and Roadmap.
In this regard, they will formulate joint positions for negotiations at the global level, based on the principle of common responsibilities and capabilities. They will lobby jointly for support from developed countries, in particular, finance, technology and support for capacity building, in line with their commitments under both the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Bali Action Plan.
They will also support the need for a balanced system of intellectual property capable of addressing issues of health, poverty eradication, climate change and access to knowledge, through access to technology.
Enquiries:
Tommy Makhode
Cell: 082 379 8268
