Date: 12/10/2004
Source: The Presidency
Title: T Mbeki: Toast remarks at dinner during State Visit to Tunisia
TOAST REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA, T MBEKI, ON THE OCCASION OF A STATE VISIT TO TUNISIA, 12 October 2004
Your Excellencies, President Zanial Abidin Ben Ali and Mrs Ali,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is a great pleasure and honour for me, my wife and the entire South African delegation to visit the Republic of Tunisia and be hosted in this beautiful and ancient city of Tunis.
Your Excellency, we, the people of South Africa, are indebted to the people of this country for the unwavering support you gave us during the long and bitter struggle against apartheid. We recall with fond memories that symbolising that support, the Government of Tunisia issued a passport to that great son of South Africa, former President of the African National Congress (ANC) Oliver Tambo, when the country of his birth had denied him one.
Accordingly, today when we celebrate a decade of democracy in our country, we recognise and appreciate the invaluable contribution of the people of Tunisia in helping us to attain our freedom.
Our state visit to this sister African country follows the successful meeting of our Joint Bilateral Commission in July of this year. I am particularly happy that our two governments have addressed not only the positive aspects of our bilateral relations, but have also identified solutions to areas in which we have not made the necessary progress.
We are very happy that tomorrow we will sign a number of important agreements. These are the Programme of co-operation on Public Health and Medical Services, Programme of co-operation on Arts and Culture and the Memorandum of Understanding on Employment. Our businesspeople will sign agreements between the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Tunis Chamber of Commerce, Tshwane Trade Point and Tunis Trade Point and a Memorandum of Understanding between our national chambers of commerce.
Clearly, these agreements are important for our citizens because they will ensure that we work together, utilising our resources, to improve our health services; learn from our diverse and rich cultures; share experiences so that we deal effectively with the challenges of employment and collaborate to improve the flow of trade between our countries.
Indeed, we need this close cooperation in these and other fields so that we can use our various capacities to build a prosperous future for our peoples and expedite the renaissance of our continent.
Among other things, both our countries have important archaeological sites and remains that remind us of our glorious past and the great civilisations such as those of Carthage here in Tunisia and Mapungubwe in South Africa. This afternoon we had the great privilege to admire the treasures at the Bardo National Museum.
We have come to Tunisia on the eve of your national elections. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the people of this country free, fair and peaceful elections that would strengthen the democratic order not only in this country but on the entire African continent as well. Indeed, it is from the strength of democracy at the national level that the recently launched Pan African Parliament derives its mandate. In this regard, your democracy in this country is an important building block for peace, stability and democracy on the continent.
Your Excellency, we are strengthening our bilateral relations for the benefit of our citizens. At the same time, given our geographic locations, we have an opportunity to create a continental axis that unites the rest of the continent through practical projects, working within the framework of the developmental programme of the African Union, the New Partnership for Africa,
Source: The Presidency
Title: T Mbeki: Toast remarks at dinner during State Visit to Tunisia
TOAST REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA, T MBEKI, ON THE OCCASION OF A STATE VISIT TO TUNISIA, 12 October 2004
Your Excellencies, President Zanial Abidin Ben Ali and Mrs Ali,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is a great pleasure and honour for me, my wife and the entire South African delegation to visit the Republic of Tunisia and be hosted in this beautiful and ancient city of Tunis.
Your Excellency, we, the people of South Africa, are indebted to the people of this country for the unwavering support you gave us during the long and bitter struggle against apartheid. We recall with fond memories that symbolising that support, the Government of Tunisia issued a passport to that great son of South Africa, former President of the African National Congress (ANC) Oliver Tambo, when the country of his birth had denied him one.
Accordingly, today when we celebrate a decade of democracy in our country, we recognise and appreciate the invaluable contribution of the people of Tunisia in helping us to attain our freedom.
Our state visit to this sister African country follows the successful meeting of our Joint Bilateral Commission in July of this year. I am particularly happy that our two governments have addressed not only the positive aspects of our bilateral relations, but have also identified solutions to areas in which we have not made the necessary progress.
We are very happy that tomorrow we will sign a number of important agreements. These are the Programme of co-operation on Public Health and Medical Services, Programme of co-operation on Arts and Culture and the Memorandum of Understanding on Employment. Our businesspeople will sign agreements between the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Tunis Chamber of Commerce, Tshwane Trade Point and Tunis Trade Point and a Memorandum of Understanding between our national chambers of commerce.
Clearly, these agreements are important for our citizens because they will ensure that we work together, utilising our resources, to improve our health services; learn from our diverse and rich cultures; share experiences so that we deal effectively with the challenges of employment and collaborate to improve the flow of trade between our countries.
Indeed, we need this close cooperation in these and other fields so that we can use our various capacities to build a prosperous future for our peoples and expedite the renaissance of our continent.
Among other things, both our countries have important archaeological sites and remains that remind us of our glorious past and the great civilisations such as those of Carthage here in Tunisia and Mapungubwe in South Africa. This afternoon we had the great privilege to admire the treasures at the Bardo National Museum.
We have come to Tunisia on the eve of your national elections. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the people of this country free, fair and peaceful elections that would strengthen the democratic order not only in this country but on the entire African continent as well. Indeed, it is from the strength of democracy at the national level that the recently launched Pan African Parliament derives its mandate. In this regard, your democracy in this country is an important building block for peace, stability and democracy on the continent.
Your Excellency, we are strengthening our bilateral relations for the benefit of our citizens. At the same time, given our geographic locations, we have an opportunity to create a continental axis that unites the rest of the continent through practical projects, working within the framework of the developmental programme of the African Union, the New Partnership for Africa,
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