Prime Minister Altankhuyag,
Ministers,
Ambassadors,
Ladies and gentlemen.
Let me start by expressing my sincere gratitude to the Government and People of Mongolia for the warm hospitality extended to our delegation since our arrival yesterday. For most of us, this represents first contact with the land of Changhis Khaan. It is indeed an honour to be here!
Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate the Government and People of Mongolia on holding successful Presidential Elections in June this year. For South Africa, the elections stand as a symbol of what can be achieved through determined leadership guided by the vision of entrenching political and economic stability.
I have brought with me the Deputy Ministers responsible for Mineral Resources, Trade and Industry, as well as Energy to afford our two governments an opportunity to set out a programme that can guide us as we improve bilateral relations.
Your Excellency,
South Africa and Mongolia established bilateral relations in May 1994, a month after South Africa's first democratically elected government was inaugurated. Next year marks the 20th Anniversary of our diplomatic relations.
Today provides us with an opportunity to take stock of the road we have traversed in that time. I am of the view that the natural affinities between our two nations are not matched by the frequency of our interactions. Therefore we could do more to strengthen our bilateral relations by increasing the frequency of high level exchanges.
South Africa would like to see more co-operation between our two countries in this important area. We believe that synergies can be found not only in the area of extraction, but also in mining engineering and services. South Africa has some of the world's leading safety equipment technologies and the South African government would be happy to see more of these technologies being deployed in the Mongolian mining sector.
In line with our international commitments on climate change, we believe that Mongolia's vast coal reserves offer an opportunity for collaboration on "clean coal technologies”. South Africa's Coal-to-Liquidtechnology would mitigate and possibly reduce the country's contribution to greenhouse gases. Both SASOL and PetroSA are well positioned to work with your government to work on the realisation of this goal.
Your Excellency,
Let me again restate my wish that our talks today will act as a catalyst for stronger bilateral cooperation. I am hopeful that following our discussions today, the pace and frequency of exchanges will increase in keeping with our desire to move in unison towards entrenching sustainable livelihoods, creating stronger people to people exchanges and strengthening our bonds of friendship.
I thank you!
