September 2006
29 September 2006
DURBAN - Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh is expected to land in
Durban tomorrow, Saturday, 30 September, ahead of his first official visit to
South Africa for strategic discussions with President Thabo Mbeki, as well as
the centenary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha campaign. Minister of
Foreign Affairs Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, will lead a ministerial delegation
to receive and welcome Prime Minister Singh at the Durban airport.
South Africa and India are strategic partners and share common views on the
need for the consolidation of the African Agenda and advancing the
developmental agenda of the South. In this regard, the two leaders will meet
within the context of their commitment to consolidate South-South relations for
increased market and trade access, while pushing back the frontiers of poverty
and under-development and the reform of global political and economic
governance.
The two leaders are meeting for the third time within a space of three
weeks, having led their respective country delegations earlier in September to
Brazil for the historic launch of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Summit,
the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit held in Havana, Cuba and the 61st Session
of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. In this regard, strategic
political and economic discussions between President Mbeki and Prime Minister
Singh, which will be held at the Union Buildings, Pretoria, are expected to
include among others:
* review of bilateral political, economic and trade relations
* consolidation of the outcomes of the IBSA and NAM Summits with a view to
fast-tracking the developmental agenda of the South
* outcomes of the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly,
including the comprehensive reform of the United Nations
* African developmental issues including peace and security on the
continent
* other issues of international relevance.
In Durban, Prime Minister Singh and President Thabo Mbeki will join in the
centenary celebration of Satyagraha, a non-violent philosophy developed by
Mahatma Gandhi against the injustices of apartheid during his stay in South
Africa. The philosophy had a great impact on the conduct of the struggle
against apartheid by the broad South African national liberation movement.
While in Durban, Prime Minister Singh will also visit several sites in
KwaZulu-Natal in the context of the centenary celebrations of Satyagraha.
In Johannesburg, Prime Minister Singh will have an opportunity to interact
with members of the South Africa - India CEOs' Forum under the chairpersonship
of Ratan Tata and Patrice Motsepe and will later visit Constitution Hill.
Issued by:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
29 September 2006
Source: SAPA
