SA and Russia committed to forging stronger communication relations
The Minister of Communications, Faith Muthambi, hosted the Vice-Minister of Telecom and Mass Communication of the Russian Federation, Mr Alexey Volin, at Tshedimosetso House, the seat of Government Communications (GCIS) from 6 - 8 March.
The visit stems from the Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme that was held in November 2016. During Minister Muthambi’s opening remarks she indicated that “ITEC was initially signed in 1999 between the Republic of South Africa and the Russian Federation. ITEC has proven to be an effective instrument in contributing directly to improved two-way trade and investment, as well as critical skills development and technology exchanges, and has given practical substance to the political commitment on the part of our two countries.”
Diplomatic relations between South Africa and Russia began in 1992, and this year marks the 25th Anniversary of strong ties between both countries. The meeting also coincides with South Africa’s celebration of the 100th centenary of OR Tambo who had strong ties with the then Soviet Union.
The meeting identified strong areas of collaboration for meaningful cooperation and exchange and further identified new opportunities for collaboration especially in the context of the BRICS community, this was amongst other key highlights of the visit.
Both countries have agreed to cooperate in the exchange of content and joint production of documentaries and films. As a precursor, SA News Agency and Sputnik News Agency signed a memorandum of understanding on the exchange of information. The countries have also committed to an exchange of e-skills in the areas of media literacy, animation, digital content development and digitization of media.
In her closing remarks to her Russian colleague, Minister Muthambi said: “The discussions of the past two days have been extremely fruitful in strengthening our common cause to improve the sector where both of us have been mandated to lead for our governments. From the areas of cooperation we have agreed on, it is clear that these two days have meaningful results which will be realised by the end of this year. A range of additional areas for future collaboration were also identified and we are committed to having a more detailed discussion in future.”
“The work has already started, said Deputy Minister Volin. He further added “this agreement has set in motion work which can now strengthen cooperation between both countries. We have already identified potential partners in the communication and information sector in South Africa.”
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