The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Aziz Pahad will hold bilateral talks with his British counterpart, Mr Peter Hain at the Diplomatic Guesthouse in Pretoria on Monday, 31 January 2000. Mr Hain was appointed as Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office during 1999 and is, inter alia, responsible for Africa, the Commonwealth, Middle East, human rights and the United Nations. This will be his first visit to South Africa in his new capacity.
The bilateral discussions will mainly focus on ways and means to further consolidate the sound political and economic relations between the two countries. The arrangements for the proposed meeting between President Thabo Mbeki and Prime Minister Tony Blair, in the context of the South Africa/United Kingdom Bilateral Forum to be held in London later this year, will feature prominently on the agenda. The Bilateral Forum, which was jointly created by the two governments, has proved to be an effective mechanism to give further practical content to the continuous expanding co-operation between the two countries.
Deputy Minister Pahad will brief his counterpart on recent political, economic and security developments in the SADC region and views will be exchanged on the need to step-up efforts to bring peace and stability to Angola, the DRC and Sierra Leone. The Ministers will, in particular, review the peace process in the DRC, in the wake of the recent UN Security Council debate which was attended by Minister Hain and which was also addressed by Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma. A related matter, that of the campaign around the diamond exports from conflict areas in Africa and the possible implications for the economies of diamond exporting countries in Africa will also be raised.
As regards multilateral cooperation, Deputy Minister Pahad will raise the issue of international debt relief with his counterpart and express South Africa’s appreciation for the recent decision by Britain to lift the burden of debt owed to Britain by the forty one Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC’s). In view of the fact that President Mbeki will drive the Commonwealth High Level Group which was created by the Heads of Government at Fancourt during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting last year, views will be exchanged on the future role of the Commonwealth and on how best it could be respond to the challenges of the new millennium. Views will also be exchanged on United Nations reform, given Britain’s key role as a permanent member of the Security Council.
During his visit, which will include Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town, Minister Hain will also meet with Deputy President, Mr Jacob Zuma and the Minister in the Office of the Presidency, Dr Essop Pahad.
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
Pretoria
28 JANUARY 2000