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Date
: 26/08/2004
Source: Department of Foreign Affairs
Title: Dlamini Zuma: Closing of SA-UK Bilateral Forum
CLOSING REMARKS BY THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC
OF SOUTH AFRICA, DR NKOSAZANA DLAMINI ZUMA, AT THE 2004 SA-UK
BILATERAL FORUM, Cape Town 26 August 2004
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
Ministers
Distinguished Members of the UK and South African delegations
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have reached the end of another meeting of our Bilateral Forum.
Now it is time to part with the good friends we have made over the
years and also to bid farewell to new acquaintances whom we may
only have met at this year's meeting. But the ending itself of this
meeting ought to be seen as the seeds of a new beginning.
As William Blake reminds us in his much-quoted lines from his
Auguries of Innocence, it is our task as humanity:
"To see a World in a Grain of sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
and eternity in an hour."
It is this bold and brave outlook on the future of the world in
which nothing is impossible and in which everything has potential
to succeed that moves us to build common ties and to travel this
road of friendship together. We share a history and a present since
the demands of the present age call upon us to act decisively and
yet wisely in the world.
For out of this gathering, possibilities emerge and are identified.
Concrete projects that have been agreed upon will now see the light
of day and this represents something wholly new that we can take to
our people. This meeting also bears testimony to the continuation
of existing plans that have been further sharpened and strengthened
as a result of our discussions.
Within every discussion, there is the possibility that new times
demand of us new actions. Thus, in our Forum, the seeds of a new
beginning have also been planted and our task now is to see that
they are nurtured so that they grow and flower.
Our Bilateral Forum ensures that we also share a sense of the
future through exploring ideas that have bearing on the world at
large. It is as part of our planning for this future that we agree
to participate in common programmes that will be to the mutual
benefits of our two nations.
I believe that our meeting this year has made solid progress and
that there has been both an advance and an enhancement on what we
have accomplished up until now.
Thank you all for your reports. I am very pleased that so much has
been achieved.
For the first time, we have had meetings between our respective
Ministers on matters of arts, culture and sport and they have made
progress in a number of projects ands in developing links between
our various industries.
Matters of trade, defence and health have received attention and
here too agreement has been reached on concrete areas of
co-operation.
As a result of these discussions, as South Africa and the United
Kingdom, we can say with confidence that we share a view that the
problems of poverty and underdevelopment in the world as well as
the reality of conflicts and instability need a multilateral
approach in thinking and indeed in implementation. For the sake of
the children of Africa, of Europe and the world, let us intensify
our efforts to address these problems and give them the attention
they deserve.
I am pleased that our joint efforts will also be focused on
improving Africa's position in the world. Your support in working
towards more favourable trade relations through exploring ways to
improve private sector participation in Africa's development is
appreciated. This will assist in enabling African countries to be
able to play a more meaningful and productive role in the world
economy and to increase the quality and quantity of their exports
and these will improve the lot of Africa's people.
Your commitment to furthering the cause of Africa within the EU is
most welcome and a timely intervention, especially as regards
assistance in strengthening African institutions.
I would like to extend my profound appreciation to all
participants, from both South Africa and the UK and to thank you
for your dedication in ensuring that this partnership achieves the
objectives that we set out for it.
It is clear that we can look forward to a full joint programme in
the year ahead, and that there are many areas in which we have a
common agenda to take forward. It must be emphasised, once more,
that if the Forum is to realise its full potential, then the two
High Commissions and all relevant Departments should do the
necessary ground work to follow up on all the possibilities for
co-operation identified during our meeting.
In conclusion, I would like to remind us all that this meeting is
as much about tangible outcomes as it is about forging common
dreams together. Let us not lose sight of the fact that humanity
does dream and that it is the innocence of these dreams that
matters despite the hardships around us, the dreams of those who
have not given up, but dare to hope and still believe that they can
do so much more than they are now in improving the human condition
and in understanding that our task as people of this world is to
arrive at a common destination.
It is my hope that there will be more continuity in participation
at future Forums than there has been in the past.
Let us look forward to next year's UK-SA Bilateral Forum and to
hear what has been done to build upon the work of yesterday and
today and to plant the seeds of a new tomorrow.
Let us continue to build common dreams together.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
26 August 2004
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