Mr programme director
Premier Zille and Minister Schneider
Consul-General Werner-Bussman
Honoured guests
Ladies and gentlemen
A good evening to you all
It affords me great pleasure to extend a warm welcome to you all present here tonight. Today marks yet another important turning point in the history of our bilateral relations.
Started in 1995, our relations with the Free State of Bavaria have grown to new heights of achievements, with the recent conclusion of a joint communiqué between Premier Zille and Minister Schneider during Minister Schneider's visit in November 2009.
The communiqué took our relations to a higher level, including critical areas such as renewable energies, cooperation on the 2010 FIFA World Cup, high technology universities, urban development, and vocational training and development.
Following extensive consultations and various meetings of the political delegations and the delegations of experts from both sides, it was agreed that the parties will pursue the implementation of projects within the scope of the Western Cape and Bavaria process.
For this reason, the Western Cape and Bavaria Exposition provides a critical milestone in achieving the objectives we have set for ourselves. We will be showcasing our strengths, while off setting weaknesses and drawing from each other's strengths. This is what international diplomacy is after all.
As we gather and interact for the next few days, we should be guided by our convictions that, as regional partners, we share a common vision of poverty reduction, embedment of good governance and the promotion of human rights in our respective administrations. Without these key ingredients, our bilateral relations would have no real value in the life of our people.
Honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen, I therefore now have the distinct pleasure in introducing to you our Premier, Ms Helen Zille, to address you.
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government
Province
