AfricaâDenmark bilateral discussions Union Buildings, East Wing, Pretoria
23 January 2009
Opening remarks by South African Foreign Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini
Zuma
Your Excellency Mr Moller, distinguished Danish delegation and the South
African delegation, I would like to welcome you to South Africa and to wish you
a very good year, 2009. I know that you have travelled from very far from a
very different clime and we hope you will enjoy your stay in South Africa. I
still remember my visit in October last year with very fond memories and I
think that with the unveiling of the shield of the Order of the Elephant in
honour of former President Mandela the visit remains very prominent in my mind
and the discussions we had with yourselves and members of parliament. I look
forward to the continuation of those discussions we had in Copenhagen.
Of course, since we met in October, quite a lot has changed in the world. We
now have a new administration in the United States. We had the historic
inauguration of the new President, President Barack Obama and we hope to
reflect on all these changes. This is indeed a historic change for us all and
we hope that his slogan for change and hope which resonated with the American
people and with the rest of the world, that we will indeed see some very
positive changes worldwide. There are problems that confront him and us all,
not least of which is the financial crisis and all its consequences. We wish
him well and hope that we all will be able to work together to whether the
effects of the financial crisis and the consequences on the economy.
We are also looking forward to coming to Denmark, not just for the
Africa-Nordic meeting but also for the climate change conference towards the
end of the year. South Africa is willing to play a very constructive role, as
always, and so, you can be assured that you have a willing partner in making
that conference a success. We are willing to play, in our humble capacity,
whatever role we can, to be very constructive. Of course, I look forward to
hearing from you regarding preparations for that conference and how the Africa
Commission is going. I think we have a lot to discuss with you and of course,
we look forward to establishing this mechanism for the regular exchange of
views.
Welcome to South Africa
Opening remarks by Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller
Thank you very much colleague, thank you very much for your very kind
invitation and I am very glad to be here. I think that South Africa is a very
important country and I wish you all the best for the New Year. You have
mentioned President Mandela and we all have admiration for the fantastic way in
which things have gone in South Africa. Two persons that stand out in the 20th
century are Gandhi and President Mandela. So what has happened is fantastic. I
think the development of the democratic process in your country is also a
miracle. Now you will prepare for elections, you have new parties. That is how
it should be in a democracy. In Denmark as well, we have recently had two new
parties. We have a small party which has now become three parties.
I look forward to co-operating well with you on the climate conference, I am
very happy that you have said you want to play a constructive role because I
think it is very important for Africa to get a good result. We talked about
this in October and your constructive endeavour is very much appreciated. I
have just come from a meeting on energy with your Minister of Minerals and
Energy and we signed an intention to co-operate agreement. I think we can
co-operate very well in the field of energy, turning your economy towards
renewable energy sources and we will of course, support you with this renewable
energy technology, wind and solar and also carbon capturing because this will
assist you with your energy consumption. Also regarding the Africa Commission,
we are very glad to have South Africa represented in this Commission. This
Africa Commission will describe the problems and also indicate solutions to
these problems. This should be the new thing at which we are aiming.
Concerning the financial crisis and the climate change problem â I think
President Obama last year made the right point that you cannot save the
financial crisis without also addressing the energy problem. That has been the
Danish policy for many years, as I am sure you are aware and I am very glad
that President Obama maintained this even at the end of the campaign if you
want to have a strong economy you cannot send all that money out of your
country to oil and gas supplying countries. We have problems in Europe because
we are as dependent on Russian gas are we are. So we have six or seven European
countries that have been freezing because the gas supply did not arrive. Now it
seems that we have found a solution this indicates how fragile we become when
we depend on others. That is why renewable energy and energy efficiency is so
important.
We are foreign ministers so we have the security problems and if the energy
ministers fail, we also get the problems. That is why it is very important that
America has a President that has taken this position that you have to combine
the solutions to the two crises. I hope that turning towards renewable sources
and better, sustainable technologies can be the locomotive of the economies of
the 21st century. Now we can have a green revolution. That is also why I think
it is so important that Denmark and South Africa, on either side of the world,
have agreed to work together to find a solution and help each.
We are looking forward to hosting the Nordic-Africa meeting and I am very
glad that you will be attending. We would want to discuss the climate change
issue with you, the problems arising from the financial and climate crises and
also preparations towards the Durban II Conference. I think it is very
important that we find reasonable solutions. I would also like to hear about
your regional challenges we are very concerned about the developments in
Zimbabwe. I read in your paper today that you now have cholera in South Africa.
I think we should discuss how we can prevent extremism and terrorism from
spreading. Your continent and ours experience the problems associated with
this. And finally along the tropics the issue of the World Trade Organisation
talks, it has become more difficult to get a solution but we must have a
solution also regarding the financial crisis, we have to see where growth can
be facilitated.
Thank you
Press conference
Comments by Foreign Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma
Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen of the media, we are very pleased
to welcome Minister Moller to South Africa. We have been looking forward to his
visit for some time and we feel that visit has come at the right time. We have
quite a range of issues that we have discussed and others that we will continue
to discuss over lunch. We think that regular discussions between ourselves and
the Danes are very important and that is why we have signed a Declaration of
Intent that allows us to meet at least once a year to have a proper discuss
between us. Denmark is one of those countries that had a long history in South
Africa by supporting the anti-apartheid and the liberation movements and so, it
is not surprising that they would have an interest in a democratic South
Africa.
We have discussed and shared with Minister Moller our views about the
domestic situation, political, economic and we have also discussed issues
around Zimbabwe, the Middle East, Palestine, a bit about what we think about
the new administration of the United States. As you know the United States has
just had the historic inauguration of President Obama and with his message of
change and hope for the Americans and the rest of the world. America is also an
important player in the world. There opinions are very important so we have
shared some ideas around this. We will further be discussing the climate change
conference, Durban II, so we have had a whole range of discussions.
I will now hand over to Minister Moller.
Comments by Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller
Thank you Minister and thank you for your invitation to visit South Africa
and to sign this agreement which means that South Africa and Denmark will now
annually consider these various topics, to inform each other and also to have
opportunities to push things in the right directions. I think that South Africa
has made tremendous development. I think this democracy which you have made
created by the agreement signed between Presidents Mandela and de Klerk,
created a miraculous situation. There are two great people in the 20th century
Mahatma Gandhi and President Mandela. What has been done is incredible. We see
the roots of democracy have taken place.
South Africa is also a very important player in Africa with facilitating
peace agreements in Africa, taking part in solutions and that is admirable.
That is why good contact with South Africa is also to the benefit of Denmark.
We will learn a lot about African conflicts and solutions. We have the African
Commission, Denmark will present its report in May and we hope it will be
constructive for Africa.
We have discussed the situation in the United States, Afghanistan, and
Pakistan, which we see as a very dangerous spot where anything can go wrong and
where if anything does go wrong it would be very costly for the world. We
discussed the Middle East. The US administration has said it will support a
two-state solution immediately which was mentioned yesterday. I think it is
good because the time must be right for a two-state solution. It is good that
the American administration is beginning so quickly to deal with this.
I am also glad of the decision of South Africa, leading up to the conference
on climate change in Copenhagen in December 2009, we need South Africa to be an
active partner and its co-operation is important for the African continent. It
is important for a leading player like South Africa to ensure that when it goes
into conferences that the needs of the African continent are taken into
account. Of course, we also discussed Zimbabwe and I hope that the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) countries will use their influence in
Zimbabwe to create a solution. We will continue to discuss other topics but
these are the ones I wanted to mention.
Thank you
Questions and answers
Question: Minister Dlamini Zuma, how do you see the situation on the border of
South Africa and Zimbabwe regarding cholera?
Answer: (Minister Dlamini Zuma) South Africa has been very instrumental in
trying to manage the cholera situation in Zimbabwe working with the Zimbabwean
authorities, the SADC Troika, and the World Health Organisation. Of course,
there is a tension between border controls and disease management. We have to
manage this very well because if we take a fortress mentality and say that we
are closing our borders, people will still find a way of entering South Africa.
We will not be able to monitor this or facilitate treatment for them. We need
to manage this very delicately because while there is the normal border
control, people can have access to healthcare.
It is also very important that we advise people on how to avoid being
infected by cholera, like ensuring you boil the water you are going to drink,
that you don't eat uncooked meat, you eat what is cooked, you peel your
vegetables so that you can prevent infection.
Question: Minister Dlamini Zuma, will South Africa propose sanctions against
President Mugabe and his regime when SADC meets on Monday?
Answer: (Minister Dlamini Zuma) I think we discussed this, if there are
sanctions to be implemented or proposed, these should be sanctions against
everyone who is impeding progress to finding a solution. They should not be
geared towards one group. I think you should look across and say where the
problems in moving forward in the implementation of the agreement are and where
there are problems, if sanctions are to be applied, they should be applied to
all who are impeding progress. That would be my approach but at the moment,
SADC has not taken a decision to impose sanctions.
Question: Minister Dlamini Zuma, how far do you think the parties are from
reaching an agreement? Are you hopeful that an agreement will be reached on
Monday? Minister Moller what are your suggestions in terms of sanctions?
Answer: (Minister Dlamini Zuma) Regarding the progress of the parties, I can
only respond to that question by telling you a story somewhere there were
people who wanted to test the village fortune teller. So some young people
wanted to test this fortune teller and they decided to tell him that if he is
wrong, we will kill him but if he is right, then we will tell the whole village
how good he is. They agreed to give him the most difficult test. So they argued
amongst themselves until they decided that they would take a little bird and
because it is so tiny we can hide it in our jackets and we will ask him to tell
us what we are carrying. Another bright young man said, "no, that might be easy
because he might say that is a bird. What we should ask him is whether it is
alive or dead. If he says it is alive, you kill it under your jacket and if he
says it is dead then you produce it alive." They agreed to this as a very good
suggestion and went off to test the fortune teller.
They went to the fortune teller and he thought very hard. He was sweating
profusely because they told him that his life depended on the answer. After a
long time, he told them they were carrying a little bird. They smiled, looked
at each other and then asked, is it dead or alive.
Again he thought very hard and was sweating profusely because his life
depended on the answer. Eventually he said, "I will not talk about the life of
a bird that is in your hands. You are the only one who can tell if is dead or
alive, only you can decide if it should live or die. So, I will not answer that
because the life of the bird is not in my hand but in yours."
So, maybe I can only answer the question through that story because the real
solution to the Zimbabwean problem is in the hands of Mr Tsvangirai, President
Gabriel Mugabe and Mr Arthur Mutambara. Those three leaders have the solution
to the Zimbabwean problems in their hands so I cannot answer how far they are
in solving the problem. Only they can answer this. SADC wants a solution but
unfortunately the solution does not lie in the hands of SADC, the EU or anyone
else, because if it was, we would have a solution by now.
If it were up the EU we would have a solution by now because the EU wants a
solution but because it is not in their hands, we don't have the solution. The
only three people who can answer that question for you are the ones I have
mentioned.
(Minister Møller) Following that response, I should also be wise and not
respond to your question. As the Minister has said, the European Union wants a
solution and we have imposed a travel and visa ban on President Mugabe and his
entourage and we of course, support the people of Zimbabwe. Denmark provides
200 million in humanitarian aid to the people of Zimbabwe because it is very
important that the victims of this political strife do not suffer more
victimisation. I hope for a solution that respects the outcome of the election
process, that is what it is all about. I really hope that SADC comes up with a
solution, it is an African problem, I am hopeful that African leaders can find
a solution to this situation as they have to other problems throughout the
years.
Question: Minister Dlamini Zuma, regarding the matter of the two Danish
children in South Africa, what are your comments on this matter?
Answer: (Minister Dlamini Zuma) This is a very sad and tragic case and we
are all very moved by his case of the children who lost their father while on
holiday in South Africa. We are very aware of the efforts of the Danish
government, together with the family to secure the future of the children and
bring them to Denmark.
Our challenge in South Africa is our laws, our law is based on Roman-Dutch
law which begins from the premise that you are innocent until proven guilty.
Now the mother, as you know, is in custody accused of the murder of the father.
But she has not been found guilty. That is one part of the problem; the other
part is that because she has not been found guilty, she has the right to
custody of the children. So, her permission is required to allow the children
to be sent to the other members of the family in Denmark. She has not given her
consent. That is the crux of the matter, she has not given consent for the
children to go and she has not been found guilty. So, our law allows her to
have custody or to be the one to consent to the children being sent to Denmark.
That is the problem. We hope that his case will be considered soon and
depending on the conclusion, a solution for the children can be found.
(Minister Moller) I can confirm that we have discussed this and while we are
very anxious to find a solution we must accept the South African law. We are
dealing with this and looking at it as a family tragedy and hope that the
children can get past this.
Question: Minister Dlamini Zuma, will Morgan Tsvangirai and Mr Mutambara
attend the SADC Summit on Monday?
Answer: (Minister Dlamini Zuma) I hope that all role-players will attend the
Summit because firstly, the SADC Troika needs to report to the Summit regarding
progress since 9 November 2008. And of course, it will be better to do this
with all parties present.
I am not aware of an African Union (AU) meeting on Monday, I am aware of an
AU Summit beginning on 1 February 2009. There will be a meeting of Ambassadors
followed by the Executive Council next week. It will consider a whole range of
issues beginning with the financial crisis, the economic depression and how
Africa views this, what message Africa would like to send to the London
meeting, it will discuss the union government in terms of integration, all
peace and security issues â Somalia, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
and Zimbabwe. It will also discuss all the socio-economic challenges as it
usually does. So, it will have a full agenda.
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
23 January 2009
