10 December 2006
Bamako - South African Foreign Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma today,
Sunday, 10 December 2006, arrived in Bamako, Mali where she,l together with her
Malian counterpart, Foreign Minister Moctar Ouane, will co-chair the second
session of the South Africa - Mali Joint Commission for Co-operation (SA-Mali
JCC) from Sunday to Monday, 10 to 11 December 2006.
The session of JCC will take place within the context of South Africa's
priority to strengthen bilateral political, economic and trade relations with
Mali.
Issues on the agenda for discussions between Ministers Dlamini Zuma and
Ouane are expected to include among others:
* the status of bilateral political and economic relations between South
Africa and Mali
* progress in co-operation projects in the fields of agriculture, arts and
culture, defence, education, health, minerals and energy, science and
technology, trade and industry and transport
* other issues of multilateral importance including the comprehensive reform of
the United Nations (UN) and South Africa's accession to the non-permanent seat
on the Security Council 2007/08.
Bilateral relations between South Africa and Mali are good, based mainly on
the Malian government's strong support for the African renaissance initiative
and the New Partnership for Africa's Partnership (NEPAD) as well as its strong
commitment to the promotion of democracy and good governance.
Since the establishment of the Joint Commission in 2000, South Africa has
been involved in several assistance projects in Mali. These projects included
the funding of the Cuban Medical Brigade deployed in the rural areas of Mali,
assistance to the country for its hosting of the 2002 African Cup of Nations
Tournament and its fight against the locust invasion in 2004.
Minister Dlamini Zuma is expected to return to South Africa on Tuesday, 12
December 2006.
Economic bilateral relations
Two major South African gold mining companies, Anglo Gold and Randgold are
present in Mali. Anglo Gold operates three gold mining operations, Yatela (in
the south west of Mali), Sadiola (near the town of Kayes in the extreme west of
Mali) and Morila (200 kilometres south of Bamako) which it operates jointly
with Randgold. The Malian government holds shares of 20 percent in Yatela and
Morila and 18 percent in Sadiola.
While the trade figures between South Africa and Mali to a large extent
reflect the activities of these two mining companies (i.e. the exports of
machinery and base metals to Mali), South Africa's main import products from
Mali are textiles and textile articles.
Eskom enterprises was successful in winning the international bid in July
2001 for the hydro-electrical generation project in Manantali, a joint
initiative between the governments of Mali (who will receive 51 percent of the
output), Senegal (34 percent) and Mauritania (15 percent).
On a multilateral economic level, co-operation between South Africa and Mali
in the gold mining industry and particularly with regard to the stabilisation
of the international gold price is being pursued, inter alia within the context
of initiatives such as the African Mining Partnership (AMP).
South African exports to Mali
Export values
2005: R445,8 million
2004: R371,0 million
2003: R177,6 million
South African imports from Mali
Import values
2005: R5,8 million
2004: R8,1 million
2003: R6,8 million
Contact:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
10 December 2006
