Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE STATE VISIT BY PRESIDENT CHIRAC OF FRANCE TO SOUTH AFRICA : 26 TO 28 JUNE 1998
President Jacques Chirac of France will pay a state visit to South Africa from 26 to 28 June 1998, at the invitation of President Nelson Mandela.
President Chirac will be accompanied by the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Hubert Vedrine, the Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry, Mr Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the Minister Delegate for Cooperation and the Francophony in the Foreign Ministry, Mr Charles Josselin. A large business delegation composed of the CEOs of major French companies will also accompany President Chirac.
The visit will be President Chirac's first visit to South Africa since he assumed office. He is scheduled to hold talks with President Mandela, Deputy President Mbeki, the Speaker of Parliament, Dr Frene Ginwala and the Chairperson of the Council of Provinces, Mr Partick Lekota. President Chirac will inaugurate the F'SATIE (French/South African Technical Institute in Electronics) at the Pretoria Technikon on 26 June 1998 and visit Soweto, the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Baragwanath Hospital as well as the Parliament on 27 June 1998. He will also open the new Alliance Francaise in Cape Town.
President Chirac will decorate Archbishop Desmond Tutu with the Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour on 28 June 1998.
South Africa and France enjoy excellent political and economic relations. France is South Africa's 11th trading partner with total trade amounting to approximately R6,6 billion in 1997, reflecting an increase of 20,5 % from 1996. French companies are increasingly investing in South Africa and the Company for Promotion and Participation for Economic Cooperation (PROPARCO), the private sector subsidiary of the French Development Agency, has identified South Africa as one of the seven priority countries for 1998.
New French companies in South Africa have trebled in number over the past four years and there are now about 140 established French companies in the country. The French Development Agency has initiated three projects for signature during the state visit of President Chirac, namely:
- a FF150 million concessional AFD loan to Development Bank of Southern (DBSA) in favour of basic infrastructure
- a FF 6 million French Global Environment Facility grant subsidy to the South African National Parks in favour of the partial of the Biodiversity conservation Project - social ecology sector- of the Cape Peninsula National Park; and
- a FF6,2 million PROPARCO equity participation in favour of Msele Nedventure Company for the financing of small and medium enterprises.
The following bilateral agreements will be signed during this visit: Customs Cooperation, Merchant Shipping and related Maritime matters, Police Cooperation, Sports Cooperation and a Memorandum of Understanding in the fields of Posts and Telecommunications.
The first annual consultation of the Forum on Political Dialogue, which was signed by Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo and his French counterpart in October 1997, will takes place during the visit. Both the South African and French Governments see this instrument as an opportunity to discuss various international issues like, inter alia, the African Renaissance, debt relief for the poorest countries and the inclusion of Africa in the process of globalization.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS PRETORIA 25 JUNE 1998