the South Africa-Rwanda Joint Commission of Co-operation, Cape Town
24 March 2009
South African Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will
tomorrow Wednesday, 25 March co-chair the South Africa-Rwanda Joint Commission
of Co-operation (JCC) with her Rwandan counterpart, Foreign Minister Rosemary
Museminali at Groote Schuur house Rondebosch, Cape Town.
The South Africa-Rwanda Joint Commission of Co-operation is held within the
context of consolidating structured political relations between the two
countries and to take stock of the progress made since the last session of the
South Africa-Rwanda JCC held in August 2006 in Kigali.
In this regard, the two ministers are expected to sign the following
agreements:
* Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on water affairs and forestry
* Agreement on Co-operation in the fields of arts and culture
* Agreement for science and technology co-operation
South Africa and Rwanda signed the general agreement on Bilateral
Co-operation in 1999 for the establishment of a Joint Commission of
Co-operation (JCC) at ministerial level which provides a formal framework for
concrete direction to bilateral relations in a wide range of areas. Since the
inauguration of the JCC in Pretoria on 22 June 2001, significant progress has
been recorded in areas such as institution and capacity building, health and
education.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Africa and
Rwanda, bilateral relations between the two countries have been characterised
by close contact at a high political level. Rwanda has been a partner in
championing the consolidation of the African Agenda by being among the first
countries to volunteer for the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and by
actively contributing troops to African Peacekeeping Missions in the Comoros
and Darfur respectively.
On 13 December 2007, South Africa hosted the Mid-Term Review Mechanism
(MTRM) session to review progress of the different JCC working groups in
preparation for the 5th Session of the JCC to be held in Pretoria on 24 and 25
March 2009.
Contact:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
24 March 2009
