Date: 14/04/2010
Source: The Presidency
Title: SA: Motlanthe: Opening remarks by the Deputy President of South Africa, on a working visit to Tunisia, Tunis

Your Excellency, Prime Minister Ghannouchi;
Honourable Ministers;
Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and Representatives;
Ladies and gentlemen:

It is a great honour for me and the members of the South African
delegation to visit the Republic of Tunisia and to enjoy the
generous hospitality of the Government of Tunisia and the kind
people of this beautiful city of Tunis.

Our countries represent the Northern and the Southern poles of
our beloved continent, Africa. We share a history of colonialism
and also a vision of African renewal.

Our friendship dates back to the time when Tunisia was a newly
independent country and when the liberation movement in South
Africa continued to struggle for liberation.

Tunisia's generous support in those days contributed in reaching
our goal of bringing democracy to South Africa in 1994 when our
leader Nelson Mandela was elected and since then we have shared
strong bonds of friendship and mutual cooperation.

Your Excellency,
Over the past sixteen years South Africans of all backgrounds
have worked hard to bring about a peaceful, prosperous and unified
society in our country.

While we have registered much progress in improving the quality
of life for all of our people, many challenges remain.

In order to address these challenges and to build a unified and
cohesive society, the South African government is currently
focusing on five (5) apex priority areas.

These include:

. Education
. Health
. Creation of decent jobs
. Fight against crime and corruption
. Rural development and land reform as well as

Distinguished guests,
Therefore, our visit today takes place within the context of
addressing these priorities. Tunisia is a shining example of a
developing country that has changed for the better the lives of its
citizens.

It is our desire to learn and share experiences from these
established benchmarks and to see how the various strategies could
be applied to our situation in South Africa.

In 1996 we established a Joint Bilateral Commission (JBC) to
formalise our relations. Since then we have had five (5) meetings
at the level of Foreign Minister and witnessed a growing friendship
and a deepening of cooperation in many fields.

In the field of health we now have more than 80 Tunisian medical
doctors working in rural areas of South Africa where the need is
the greatest.

It is our hope that this programme will be expanded in the
foreseeable future and that Tunisian doctors will continue to
benefit from the clinical experience they are gaining in South
Africa.

Since 1997 over 1,300 patients in poor, rural areas of South
Africa have had their sight restored following cataract operations
performed by the Tunisian charity Nadi El Bassar. These operations
are performed free of charge.

We wish to thank the doctors and members of staff at Nadi El
Bassar for their unselfish work and to wish them all the best for
their work in the future.

Your Excellency,
Although we have so far concluded twenty (20) agreements on
cooperation in areas of mutual interest, we continue to explore new
areas of cooperation.

Several draft agreements on scientific and technological
cooperation, information and telecommunications technology (ICTs),
vocational training, arts and culture and youth development
cooperation are being finalised.

We are also pleased about the defence cooperation that exists
between our two countries. Tunisia and South Africa both make an
important contribution to peace-keeping operations on the African
Continent.

The South African Defence Force is benefiting from desert
orientation training provided by the Tunisian armed forces, which
has assisted South African troops deployed in desert conditions
greatly.

It has also been an honour to receive Tunisian officers for
training in South Africa. We hope that this collaboration will
continue to our mutual advantage.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Tunisia and South Africa are in a position to contribute to the
development of the African continent through bilateral action, but
also through the mechanism of the African Union's New Partnership
for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

We share a desire to find a lasting solution to the challenges
of conflict of the Western Sahara, Sudan as well as the
Palestine-Israeli conflict.

We are distressed by the on-going violence and destruction and
express the hope that the Palestinian people will unite so that
they may continue to work towards the establishment of an
independent state.

South Africa stands ready to support efforts in attaining this
goal.

It is also South Africa's view that we should, as South Africa
and Tunisia, lead by example. There are many areas of agreement
where we can achieve more.

Finally, Your Excellency, South Africa is ready to host the FIFA
2010 World Cup in the world in less than two (2) months' time.

While we regret that the Tunisian national team, the Eagles of
Carthage, did not qualify this time, nevertheless we are pleased
that several Tunisian volunteers will be participating in the
hosting of the Wold Cup in various cities in South Africa.

We want to extend a warm invitation to our Tunisian brothers and
sisters to come to South Africa to experience this spectacular
event.

It is the first time that this event is taking place on the
African continent and it will not be the last. We are certain that
in future countries such as Tunisia will have the opportunity to
host such event as the World Cup.

Your Excellency,
Please accept again my heartfelt thanks for your generous
hospitality and brotherly collaboration.

And we believe that this meeting should be a turning-point in
dynamising cooperation in areas that are catalystic for stronger
future cooperation.

We look forward to the continuation of these joint efforts to
improve the lives of our people, to uplift the people of our
continent and to contribute to a better world.

I thank you.