28 November 2006
Pretoria: The South African President, Thabo Mbeki, will on Wednesday, 29
November 2006, depart for Abuja, Nigeria, where he will attend the African
Union (AU) Peace and Security Council and the Inaugural session of the
Africa-South America Summits, scheduled for 29 to 30 November 2006,
respectively.
President Mbeki will be supported by the Deputy Foreign Minister, Aziz
Pahad, who today, Tuesday, 28 November 2006 led a senior government delegation
to the Ministerial session of the Africa-South America Summit.
The AU Peace and Security Council Summit will discuss the situation in
Darfur with particular reference to the expiration of the mandate of the
African Mission in Sudan (AMIS) on 31 December 2006 and the deployment of a
hybrid AU-United Nations force.
Africa-South America Summit
The Africa-South America Summit provides a good opportunity for both
continents to reach a clear understanding of areas of common interest and
prospects for co-operation and enhanced collaboration to foster a stronger
strategic partnership on a South-South axis that would provide the context for
consolidating and invigorating relations.
The decision to convene this Summit was adopted at the AU Summit held in
Khartoum, Sudan in January 2006 on the Africa-Diaspora process and reiterated
at the Summit in Banjul, the Gambia in July 2006.
Issues on the agenda for deliberations and exploration of co-operation
opportunities at the Summit are expected to include, among others:
* peace and security
* democracy, governance, human rights and other political issues
* agriculture and agribusiness, water resources and the environment
* trade and investment between both continents including market access,
investment projects and financial resources
* the fight against poverty and underdevelopment
* infrastructure development
* energy and social materials
* social and cultural co-operation, tourism and sports
* health and education
* science, technology and Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
* co-operation in multilateral foray.
President Mbeki is expected to return to South Africa on Friday, 1 December
2006.
Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
28 November 2006
