Outgoing US ambassador Cameron Hume said on Friday South Africa has agreed to the US training and equipping two of its infantry battalions for peacekeeping duty.
Hume was speaking at the re-opening of a clinic at Cottondale near Bushbuckridge in Limpopo, that had been upgraded by US and South African medical personnel participating in a joint training exercise dubbed "Medflag".
A source familiar with the talks told Sapa the US has spent the last eight years attracting South Africa's interest to their African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (Acota) programme.
Acota is a US State Department-coordinated programme that works with African states to improve peace support operations and humanitarian assistance capabilities.
Countries that have already benefited from the programme include Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Malawi and Senegal.
The source, who spoke on condition of not being identified, said the difficulty in offering South Africa training and equipment was that it had a sophisticated domestic industry and defence force.
Many of the usual offerings, such as uniforms and radios, would be inappropriate.
Suggestions that have been made instead include the US providing South Africa with simulation equipment similar to that used at facilities such as their Joint Readiness Training Centre where Army and Air Force units train together against an opposing force before deploying abroad.
Other suggestions included training related to dealing with the media and using translators. – Sapa.
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