Issued by: SA Communication Service
MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE OFFICIAL VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA BY THE PRIME MINISTER OF MAURITIUS, DR RAMGOOLAM: 17-18 FEBRUARY 1998
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius, Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam and Mrs Veena Ramgoolam, will pay a two-day official visit to South Africa. During the visit he will meet with President Nelson Mandela on 17 Febraury 1998, after which a bilateral agreement on the reciprocal promotion and protection of investments will be signed. Dr Ramgoolam will also meet with Deputy President Mbeki, the Speaker of Parliament, Dr Frene Ginwala, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
On 18 February 1998, Dr and Mrs Ramgoolam will travel to Kwazulu/Natal where they will visit places of historical and cultural interest such as the grave of the late Reverend John Dube and the Phoenix informal settlement. Accompanied by the Mayor of Pietermaritzburg, Mr Siphiwe Gwala, the Prime Minister will unveil a plaque at the city's railway station where Mahatma Gandhi was forcibly removed from a train by the colonial administration. In the evening the Premier of the Province, Dr Ben Ngubane, will host a banquet in the couple's honour. The Prime Minister and Mrs Ramgoolam will depart for Mauritius from Durban on 19 February 1998.
Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam, who became Prime Minister of Mauritius in 1995, is the son of that country's first Prime Minister, Sir Seewoosaqur Ramgoolam.
The visit of Prime Minister Ramgoolam will further enhance and expand the sound relations which already exist between the two countries. The Prime Minister will also be accompanied by a group of influential Mauritian businesspeople, who will meet with representatives of Business South of Business (SACOB) and the South African Foreign Trade Organisation (SAFTO). Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown steadily, reaching R1 billion in 1997, while South African tourists to the island reached the 50,000 target, recently set by the tourism industry.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS PRETORIA 15 FEBRUARY 1998