ministerial consultations in Norway
18 March 2007
Pretoria: South African Foreign Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will
depart for Olso, Norway, today Sunday, 18 March 2007, where she will lead the
South African delegation to the 6th session of the Nordic-African Informal
Ministerial Consultations scheduled from Monday to Tuesday, 19 to 20 March
2007.
Minister Dlamini Zuma will participate in this session of the Nordic-Africa
Informal Ministerial Consultations within the context of South Africa's
priority to promote the African developmental agenda through among others
strategic engagement with countries of the North.
It is expected the participants from Africa will include representatives
from: Benin, Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria,
Zambia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, while the Nordic
delegation will comprise representatives from Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden,
and Finland.
Discussions are expected to include, among others:
* Peace and security challenges in Africa, including the role of the African
Union, relations between the United Nations (UN) Security Council and African
Union (AU) Peace and Security Council as well as conflict resolution and
peacekeeping efforts
* Climate change, including challenges highlighted in the recent
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, special concerns of
African countries, the vulnerability of African countries to the adverse
effects of climate change, the adaptation to climate change, the transfer of
climate-friendly technologies, shared challenges and experiences as well as the
potential for joint initiatives
* United Nations issues such as the Peace Building Commission, the Human Rights
Council, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and reform issues
including Security Council reform, operations, administration, and the "High
Level Panel on UN System-Wide Coherence."
Since its launch in the year 2000 the Nordic-African Consultations held
meetings at least five times in Stockholm, Mozambique, Helsinki and Benin. The
Forum was initiated by the late Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh with a view
to discussing matters of mutual interest in an informal setting.
Visit to Algeria
Minister Dlamini Zuma will proceed from Oslo for Algiers where she will
provide political support to President Thabo Mbeki during the AU Heads of State
and Government Brainstorming session to review the integration of the New
Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) into the structures of the African
Union, scheduled for Wednesday, 21 March 2007.
For further information, please contact:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
18 March 2007
