to South Africa-Pakistan Joint Commission
9 March 2007
Pretoria: Director-General of Foreign Affairs Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba will lead a
South African delegation to Pakistan to engage in the first session of the
Bilateral Joint Commission (BJC) which will be held in Islamabad from 11 to 13
March 2007. The joint commission will be co-chaired by Dr Ntsaluba and the
Pakistani Foreign Secretary, Mr Riaz Mohammad Khan.
The first session of the BJC between South Africa and Pakistan is seen as an
important step to normalise bilateral relations since they became strained in
1999 following the suspension of Pakistan from the decision making councils of
the commonwealth after a military coup. This suspension was lifted in May 2004.
The first session was scheduled for the end of 2005, but could not take place
due to the earthquake aftermath in Pakistan.
Director-General Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba's visit to Pakistan comes within the
context of South Africa's commitment to consolidate south-south relations for
increased market and trade access. Other issues to be addressed include
mechanisms to institute a regular dialogue forum on matters of regional/global
importance and increased interaction at various structures of governance.
The sub-committee on trade, economic and technical co-operation will be
exploring opportunities for South Africa in Pakistan and working on the pending
trade agreement, enhanced participation in business exhibitions and fairs,
agro-processing, etc. A technical visit by the Department of Trade and Industry
to Pakistan will also be undertaken. Opportunities in the area of education
will also be investigated through co-operation with Pakistani academic
institutions of high excellence and Pakistan has indicated that they would like
to contribute to the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa
(AsgiSA) and the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) by
providing skills on a vocational level.
Other sub-committees will hold discussions on visa regulations, defence
matters, arts and culture, and sport co-operation.
Contact:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by Department of Foreign Affairs
9 March 2007
