BuaNews (Tshwane)
8 June 2008
Pretoria — Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad will attend a two-day session of the South Africa/Malawi Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) this week to strengthen bilateral programmes of cooperation with Malawi.
Mr Pahad with his Malawian counterpart, Deputy Minister Henri Mumba will co-chair the first session of the JCC.
This is within the context of South Africa's priority to strengthen bilateral political, economic and trade relations with Malawi and consolidate the Southern African Development Community (SADC) developmental agenda.
The session will start on Tuesday and end on Wednesday.
The South Africa's "Global Economic Strategy" places great importance on it engagement with countries in Africa and SADC in particular, as it is believed that the country's economy is inextricably linked with those of other SADC members.
In this regard, both countries regard the establishment of this JCC vital to strengthen relations and to create an environment for a more focused and well coordinated engagement in the areas of trade, tourism, mining, sports, culture, technology, health and agriculture.
In this way, bilateral relations will move to a higher footing and is expected to yield greater benefits for both countries, the department said in a statement.
The JCC will plan and implement bilateral programmes of cooperation while undertaking studies and surveys in the fields of common interest, including:
In 2007, Malawi was South Africa's 10th largest export destination in Africa, seventh in the SADC region and ranked eighth with regard to imports from Africa, seventh in the SADC region.
Departments which will be participating in the JCC include the Department of Agriculture, Arts and Culture, Home Affairs, Science and Technology, Transport, Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Trade and Industry, Minerals and Energy, Defense, Social Development and Health.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 BuaNews. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
