3 March 2007
South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad on Saturday, 3 March 2007,
departs for the Gulf where he is scheduled to pay a two-legged official visit
that will include Qatar and Iran from Sunday to Thursday, 4 to 8 March
2007.
Deputy Minister Pahad will visit Qatar and Iran within the context of South
Africa's priority to consolidate relations with all countries of the Gulf.
Qatar
Deputy Minister Pahad is scheduled to visit Qatar from Sunday to Tuesday, 4
to 6 March 2007, during which he will hold discussions with his counterpart,
Minister of State for External Affairs Ahmed Abdullah al-Mahmoud on Monday, 5
March 2007.
Issues on the agenda of discussions between Deputy Minister Pahad and
Minister of State al-Mahmoud are expected to include, among others:
* the status of bilateral political and economic relations between both
countries
* s briefing on the African developmental agenda including the consolidation of
institutions of the African Union (AU) and the implementation of New
Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)
* conflict resolution and peacekeeping in Africa
* a briefing on developments in the Gulf region including Iran's nuclear
programme
* developments in the Middle East peace process.
Deputy Minister Pahad is scheduled to depart from Qatar on Tuesday, 6 March
2007, ahead of the seventh Council of Ministers Meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim
Association for Regional Co-operation (IOR-ARC) in Tehran, Iran.
Iran
Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad will lead the South African delegation to
the seventh Council of Ministers Meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association
for Regional Co-operation (IOR-ARC) in Tehran, Iran, scheduled from Wednesday
to Thursday, 7 to 8 March 2007.
IOR-ARC meeting is an important instrument to promote shared economic
benefit between all member states of the Association and will in 2007 celebrate
10 years since the formal inauguration of the Association.
The South African delegation will participate in discussions seeking ways in
which the IOR-ARC could be used as a vehicle to unlock the vast potential of
the region with the population of close to two billion people. The meeting will
also elicit ways and means in which trade and investment flows, trade
liberalisation, as well as the sustainable exploitation of the tourism
potential of the Association's members could be enhanced.
The deliberations of the Working groups will be focused on amongst
others:
* foreign direct investment
* tourism promotion and development projects
* preferential trading agreement
* economic summit for leading business executives of IOR-ARC
* an integrated coastal management programme
* increased student and academic exchange within the region
* the promotion of inter-regional tourism
* cross border financial services
* a fisheries protocol amongst members
* a review of the IOR-ARC Special Fund.
The IOR-ARC is a multilateral organisation comprised of countries that share
a shoreline along the Indian Ocean and was launched in March 1997 in Mauritius
with a view to focus mainly on trade-related issues. The shared identity of a
common historical experience of colonialism and imperialism also contributed to
bringing together the leaders of states in the Indian Ocean region, basing
regional co-operation on the past littoral economic, social and cultural
communities as well as bridging a link between Africa, Asia and
Australasia.
South Africa was one of the founding members of the IOR-ARC. The
organisation is based on the principle of open regionalism, which is a flexible
arrangement that compares very favourably with other regional arrangements such
as preferential trade agreements, free trade areas, customs unions, common
markets, etc. With several IOR-ARC member states sharing participation in other
regional initiatives, the IOR-ARC plays an important role as building block for
the promotion of south-south co-operation and for complimenting African-Asian
regional integration.
IOR-ARC member states include Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran,
Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Singapore, South
Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. All
these countries are washed by the Indian Ocean, whose shores has witnessed
trade among people in the region for centuries.
Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
3 March 2007
