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Mbeki spells out SA's foreign aims

22nd May 2004

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South Africa will continue to work with other countries to speed up the process of restructuring and strengthening the United Nations and other world organisations, President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday.

Delivering his state-of-the-nation address at the opening of Parliament in Cape Town, he said South Africa would also persist in its efforts to ensure a successful conclusion of World Trade Organisation negotiations, "by the beginnning of the coming year, as originally planned".

Mbeki also committed South Africa to "continue to work with our sister countries Zimbabwe and Swaziland so that the citizens of these... can also enjoy peace, stability and sustainable development".

Touching on international flashpoints, he said government would continue to keep a close eye on the situation in the Middle East.

"Necessarily focusing on the Israel-Palestine and Iraq conflicts, contributing what we can to their solution, including support for the vigorous implementation of the Road Map (peace plan)."

South Africa would also intensify its preparations to take part in next year's Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, he said.

Further, the country would co-operate closely with India and Brazil to strengthen economic ties, while further strengthening links with China.

"We will (also) continue to work with the International Investment Council and the Presidential Council on Information Society to improve our responses to the process of globalisation and our access to foreign direct investment and modern information and communication technologies.

"We will also continue to work with other countries to speed up the process of restructuring the United Nations and other international organisations to respond to the urgant need to strengthen our multilateral system.

"This will include making an input into the work of the Panel of Eminent Persons, which was established by the UN Secretary-General, and which must present its report before the end of the year," Mbeki said.

On Africa, he said South Africa had offered to host the Pan-African Parliament, "and await the decision that will be taken by the July summit meeting of the African Union in this regard".

"We will continue to contribute to the effective functioning of our regional organisation, SADC (the Southern African Development Community), helping to enhance its capacity to speed up the process of regional integration."

South Africa would also consolidate its bilateral co-operation agreements with Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria, the DRC, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Namibia and Lesotho, Mbeki said. - Sapa
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