ahead of official visit to Iran
6 March 2007
Doha: South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad today Tuesday, 6
March 2007, concludes his official visit to Doha, Qatar where he held
discussions with the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign
Affairs Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabor Al Thani and the Assistant Minister
for Follow up Affairs Mohammed Al Rumaihi.
The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Hamad
Bin Jassim Bin Jabor Al Thani agreed to visit South Africa, accompanied by a
Qatari business delegation, at the earliest mutually convenient date with a
view to investigating further areas of co-operation between both countries.
Some of the co-operation projects already underway between both countries
are:
*The Sasol-Qatar Petroleum joint venture to construct a gas-to-liquid
facility at Ras Lafan worth US$900 million. The plant was inaugurated on 6 June
2006 by Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica.
Qatar hosted the Asian Games in December 2006 and several South African
construction companies have benefited from infrastructure projects related to
the games. Foremost among these is Murray and Roberts, which finished
construction of the multipurpose Khalifa Stadium in Doha in June 2005. Genrec
of South Africa was awarded a R200 million contract to supply all the
structural steel for this project. Future infrastructure and development
projects in Qatar over the next few years are likely to be substantial. These
include new oil and gas facilities, ports, an airport, several new roads,
hotels, museums and residential compounds, all offering opportunities for South
Africa.
As non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), both
South Africa and Qatar discussed forthcoming issues on the agenda of the
Security Council with a view to consolidating positions to support the
developmental agenda of the South. In this context, Deputy Minister Pahad
briefed the Qatari delegation regarding developments in the African Union (AU)
and the importance of Qatari co-operation with Africa for the implementation of
the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).
Accordingly, Deputy Minister Pahad also briefed the Qatari delegation of the
implementation of South Africa's Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative
(AsgiSA) and the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA)
headed by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
Deputy Minister Pahad also discussed African peace and security issues
including Somalia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. The
Qatari government pledged its continuous support to assist with conflict
resolution, peacekeeping and post conflict reconstruction initiatives. Both
sides also agreed to investigate trilateral co-operation projects in order to
support peacekeeping and post-conflict resolution in Africa.
Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian question, the South African delegation
welcomed the recently concluded Mecca Agreement signed by the Palestinian
government and Hamas on Friday, 9 February 2007. Both sides also reiterated
calls for the establishment of an independent state of Palestine based on 1967
borders with Jerusalem as its capital. Both sides called on the governments of
Israel and Palestine to remain committed to this goal and enter into final
status negotiations. The delegations also called for an end to sanctions
against the Palestinian government and for discussions with the newly formed
Palestinian government to commence without pre-conditions.
Both sides also discussed the Iranian nuclear situation. As non-permanent
members of the Security Council, both Qatar and South Africa agreed to remain
engaged with Iran and other international role-players in order to facilitate a
negotiated diplomatic solution to the situation.
Deputy Minister Pahad is scheduled to depart from Qatar today Tuesday, 6
March 2007, ahead of the 7th Council of Ministers Meeting of the Indian Ocean
Rim Association for Regional Co-operation (IOR-ARC) in Tehran, Iran.
Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
6 March 2007
