Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
7 December 2000
The Foreign Minister of Zambia, S.K. Walubita, accompanied by High Commissioner to South Africa, B.N. Nkunika, Director of Regional Cooperation in the Zambian Foreign Ministry, Mr M. Mwanza and other officials from the Zambian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will arrive in South Africa on Friday, 08th December 2000 on an official visit from 08-10 December 2000.
Minister Walubita and his delegation will engage in discussions with his South African counterpart, Dr N.C Dlamini-Zuma, who will be accompanied by a delegation from the Department of Foreign Affairs. The discussions are scheduled to take place on Saturday, 9th December 2000.
The meeting takes place in accordance with a Declaration of Intent, signed between Presidents Mbeki and Chiluba on 30 October 1999, which stipulates that the Foreign Ministers will meet annually. These annual meetings are to be held alternatively in each other's capitals.
The aim of the annual meeting is also to review progress with regard to the General Agreement on Cooperation in the Economic, Social, Scientific and Cultural Spheres which was signed in 1996.
In this regard good progress has been made. Six bilateral agreements with Zambia are currently in place while another six are still being negotiated. A Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Legal Field is likely to be signed before the end of the year.
Several other matters of mutual interest will also be discussed, inter alia the feasibility of a State Visit by President Chiluba to South Africa in 2001 as well as the role which the two countries have been playing with regard to peace initiatives on the African continent. At the end of the meeting Minister Dlamini-Zuma will host a lunch in honour of Minister Walubita.
For enquiries contact Dumisani Rasheleng
Tel. (012) 3510128/0067
Cell no. 083 709 8166