10 June 2007
Pretoria â South African President Thabo Mbeki will host his counterpart
from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), President Joseph Kabila, on a
State Visit scheduled to take place from Thursday, 14 to Friday, 15 June 2007.
The two Presidents will hold bilateral discussions at Tuynhuys in Cape Town on
Thursday, 14 June 2007.
These discussions will take place within the context of South Africa's
commitment to consolidate relations with the DRC and to support the political,
economic, reconciliation and nation building processes in the country.
Issues on the agenda of discussions between Presidents Mbeki and Kabila on
Thursday 14 June 2007 are expected to include:
* the status of bilateral political and economic relations between both
countries including future and sustained co-operation
* a briefing by President Kabila on recent political developments in the DRC
including the vital security sector reform
* support from the international community, including the United Nations, for
political and economic processes in the DRC
* a briefing from President Mbeki on the recently concluded G-8 + 5 and African
outreach session and
* other issues of mutual interest.
The DRC remains one of the foreign policy pillars of South Africa's
engagement on the African continent. South Africa's assistance to the DRC is
informed by its vision of an "African Renaissance" of peace, stability and
security and sustained renewal, growth and socio-economic development for the
African continent. Accordingly, South Africa is committed to a strategy for
post conflict reconstruction and development in the DRC that is aligned with
that of the African Union and Nepad. Hence, its assistance to the DRC is
broadly based on 3 key areas, which are: the security sector reform (SSR),
institutional capacity building and economic development.
South Africa assisted the DRC in organising its first democratic election on
30 July 2006 with the second round following on 29 October 2006. The South
African Government deployed a 108-member National Observer Team, in all eleven
(11) provinces, which observed both rounds of the DRC elections. This was done
within the framework of the Binational Commission (BNC) agreement which was
signed between the two countries in 2004. The BNC further paved the way for
engagement in the DRC by the South African Government Departments of Foreign
Affairs, Public Service and Administration, Defence, Home Affairs, Trade and
Industry, the South African Police Service, Provincial and Local Government,
Transport, Minerals and Energy, Housing, Agriculture, Social Development, South
African Revenue Service (SARS), South African Management Development Institute
(SAMDI) and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). Priority was given to
areas critical to electoral support and subsequent to the successful elections,
this support was extended to enhance capacity building in governance structures
and security sector reform.
Given the magnitude of the task, it is clear that the reconstruction process
in the DRC will continue to require international support. In this regard,
South Africa is supporting the DRC by sharing its experience of engaging the
international community and international financial institutions in the
processes of reconstruction, development and nation building.
South Africa also welcomes the renewed MONUC (United Nations Mission in the
DRC)mandate which has been extended to December 2007. The mandate authorises
the deployment of 17 030 military personnel and 1 900 military observers,
police and police trainers, and spells out the United Nations role to train the
Congolese armed forces and police in observing human rights. The maintenance of
the MONUC force in the DRC will contribute to contain the violence committed by
armed militia especially in the volatile eastern part of the country.
During the State Visit, President Joseph Kabila will get an opportunity to
address a joint sitting of the South African Parliament and interact with the
South African Business sectors. It is anticipated that the business meeting
will attract investments and explore business incentives and opportunities for
South African companies in the DRC. President Kabila will also visit the North
West Province and the Royal Bafokeng community in particular, in order to
experience how the latter benefit from the mining activities.
Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
10 June 2007
