The Minister of Social Development Mrs Edna Molewa, will on Thursday, 22 July 2010, deliver a keynote address at the celebration of the National Day of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Bilateral relations between South Africa and Egypt were first established in 1942 when South Africa opened an embassy in Egypt. In 1957 the embassy was closed as a result of apartheid policies of the South African government and the support of the Egyptian government for the liberation movements.
In 1988, contact between the two governments was re-established and in 1993 relations were normalised when representative offices were opened in Cairo and Pretoria respectively.
In 1994, after the first democratic elections, the two governments announced the upgrading of their respective representative offices to that of embassies. Since then the two countries have established the South Africa and Egypt Joint Bilateral Commission which provides a forum for formalisation and implementation of political and economic agreements.
To date, the two countries have signed 20 bilateral agreements, including memorandums of understanding in the important fields of information and communication technology (ICT), public service, energy and environment.
The minister will join the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt, His Excellency Dr Mohamed Zayed and Mrs Suzan Tawfik, other dignitaries and members of the diplomatic corps.
Media is invited to cover the event.
Date: 22 July 2010
Time: 12h30
Venue: 270 Bourke Street, Muckleneuk, Pretoria
For RSVP contact:
Jaconia Kobue
Tel: 012 312 7793
Cell: 073 026 1111
For media enquiries contact:
Mandla Mathebula
Cell: 083 282 6133
