Issued by: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
11 September 1997
JOINT COMMUNIQUE ON THE OCCASION OF THE VISIT TO THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OF HIS EXCELLENCY MR LAHCENE MOUSSAOUI, DELEGATE MINISTER IN CHARGE OF CO-OPERATION AND MAGHREB AFFAIRS OF TE PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA; 7 TO 11 SEPTEMBER 1997
At the invitation of Mr Aziz Pahad, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Mr Lahcene Moussaoui, Delegate Minister for Co-operation and Maghreb Affairs of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, visited South Africa officially from 7 to 11 September 1997. He was accompanied by a delegation of senior technical officials.
Deputy Minister Pahad and Delegate Minister Moussaoui held fruitful discussion son internal, bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual concern. The discussions took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere.
The two Deputy Minister expressed Satisfaction with the excellent relations existing between their two countries, and called for expanded co-operation, particularly in the fields of trade and economics. While they recognised that there are a number of outstanding issues pertaining to formal bilateral co-operation, they stressed their commitment to moving forward on those. A development which was welcomed by both Deputy Minister, was the possibility of a visit by South African businessmen to Algeria before the end of the year. The matter will be investigated further and the two Deputy Ministers stressed that they would want to see this development finalised. It was confirmed that South Africa would be opening an Embassy in Algiers before th end of October 1997.
The internal situations in both countries were discussed at length. THe importance of the democratisation process in Algeria was emphasised and encouraged, indicative of a welcomed process in the region. The phenomenon of terrorism in Algeria was condemned. They discussed African Regional issues and emphasized the need for putting an end to the conflicts in various parts of the continent. Both Deputy Minister reiterated that these conflicts still remain the major impediments to development efforts on the continent, and expressed their determination to work together to promote the causes of peace, democracy and human rights. In this regard they agreed on the importance of regional groupings, and shared experiences concerning relations in their respective regions, drawing many parallels between SADC (Southern African Development Co-operation) on the one hand, and AMU (Arab Maghreb Union), on the other.
The two Deputy Ministers discussed the situation in the Middle East and reaffirmed the importance of the resumption of negotiations on all tracks of the peace process, based on the principles agreed in Madrid, namely Land For Peace rather than Security for Peace.
Concerning the Western Sahara issue, the two Deputy Ministers reaffirmed their support to the Sahrawi cause and expressed their satisfaction about the UN's measures aimed at boosting the implementation of the settlement plan relating to the problem. They encouraged Mr James Baker as Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in his efforts to establish a climate of confidence, indispensable for the organisation of a free and fair referendum.
Turning to international organisations, the two Deputy Ministers considered the role of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), agreeing on the importance of continued consultations between the two countries regarding the future role of the movement.
Delegate Minister Moussaoui also met with the Minister of Public Enterprises, Ms S Sigcau; Minister of Transport, Mr M Maharaj; Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs, Mr P Maduna; Minister of Water Affairs, Prof K Asmal; Minister of Safety and Security, Mr S Mufamadi; Minister of Public Service and Administration, Dr Z Sweyiya; Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms P Mlambo-Ngcuka; as well as the Deputy Minister in the Office of the Deputy President, Dr E Pahad. Mr Moussaoui also met with senior representatives of economic and research institutions such as SAFTO, Business SA, and the CSIR.
At the conclusion of his visit, Mr Lahcene Moussaoui expressed his appreciation for the warm, friendly and hospitable reception accorded to him during his stay in South Africa.
The accompanying technical delegation held several fruitful meetings with their counterparts and the following bilateral agreements were initialed : a Bilateral Air Services Agreement, an Agreement on Merchant Shipping Relations, a Customs Agreement, an Agreement on Co-operation in the fields of science and technology, an Agreement on Sport and Recreation; an Agreement on Tourism; and a Protocol on Veterinary Health.
The most important however, is an Agreement on a Joint Bilateral Commission, which was initialled by the two Deputy Ministers during a press conference on Thursday. They stressed that their initials were precursors to more permanent developments, and reaffirmed their strong commitment to formalising all the agreements initialled during the visit, as soon as possible. Matters which had arisen during the talks would all be followed up and finalised.
Finally the two Deputy Minsters announced that the first full working session of the Joint Commission will be in (Algeria), during (February/March 1998).
Done in Cape Town, on the 11th day of September 1997.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Africa. His Excellency Aziz Pahad.
Delegate Minister for Co-operation and Maghreb Affairs of the Peoples's Democratic Republic of Algeria His Excellency Lahcene Moussaoui