Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
10 May 2001
An Angolan delegation, comprising of senior officials from the Angolan Ministry of External Relations, visited South Africa from 7 to 11 May 2001 for wide-ranging talks with their South African counterparts.
The Angolan Delegation was led by Dr Joaquim do Espirito Santo, Director for Africa and the Middle East of the Ministry of External Relations. The Delegation also included Dr Mario Azevedo Constantino, Director of Legal Affairs and Mr Manuel Domingos Nogueira, Head of Section of Bilateral Co-operation with Africa.
They were joined by officials from the Angolan Embassy in Pretoria.
As a follow-up to a very successful visit by the South African Minister of Foreign Affairs to Angola in November last year, the meeting was intended to discuss matters of mutual concern in an effort to improve on the already excellent relations between the two countries.
The Angolan Delegation was welcomed to South Africa by Dr P T Mathoma, Chief Director Southern Africa in the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The Angolan Delegation provided an overview regarding the current situation in Angola and the prospects for peace. The Leader of the South African Delegation, Mr W A W Nhlapo, Deputy Director-General: Africa, pledged South Africa's assistance to Angola to achieve peace and national reconciliation.
Much progress has been made in discussing ways to increase co-operation between the two Foreign Ministries. A Declaration of Intent on co-operation between the two Foreign Ministries is expected to be signed when the Angolan Foreign Minister, Mr Joao de Miranda, pays an official visit to South Africa. The Declaration of Intent foresees closer co-operation in international fora such as the Organisation of African Unity, the United Nations and other International Organisations. It would also contribute to the development of the friendship and close ties between the two States in the spirit of the United Nations Charter. It is envisaged in the Declaration of Intent that South Africa and Angola would also consult on the development of bilateral relations and on international matters of common interest.
In order to facilitate Government-to-Government contact, and in the spirit of the closer co-operation generated by reciprocal visits, the possibility of waiving visas for holders of diplomatic and service passports was also discussed. It is believed that a measure such as this would greatly simplify the procedures for travel between the two countries by diplomats and government officials.
The Angolan Delegation also visited the office of the South African Chamber of Business in Johannesburg. It is trusted that the contact established will result in renewed interest by South African companies to do business and invest in Angola. The possibility of the Angolan Chamber of Commerce and Industry entering into a co-operation agreement with the South African Chamber of Business, was also discussed during the Delegation's visit.
In order to formalise and encourage trade and investment between South Africa and Angola, this Issue was further addressed, also with officials from the South African Department of Trade and Industry being present. The prospects of entering into an agreement for the reciprocal protection of investment was discussed as well as ways and means of encouraging bilateral economic relations.
Recognising Angola as a major oil producer, the South African Delegation expressed interest in the oil industry of that country.
In this context the Department of Minerals and Energy proposed closer co-operation in this field, taking into account that Angola's new deepwater oil fields hold promise of being some of the richest oil fields in and around the African continent. Also of interest to South African companies may be the transformation of the downstream sector of Angola's oil industry, particularly installation and maintenance of infrastructure and operation of service stations.
With increasing globalisation, cross-border crime has also become a matter of concern and the South African Police Services also joined the discussions in a joint effort to find a solution to the problem. Both sides agreed to explore the conclusion of a co-operation agreement on security matters which will enable all issues related to crime and security in general to be addressed.
The discussions were held in a cordial atmosphere and it was agreed that there would soon be a follow-up meeting in order to give further substance to the fruitful discussions held during this meeting.
A letter from the Angolan Minister of External Relations, Mr Joao Bernardo de Miranda, will also be delivered to the South African Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr N C Dlamini-Zuma. The Angolan Delegation thanked their South African counterpart and Government for their generous hospitality.
W A W NHLAPO
Deputy Director-General: Africa Director: Africa and the Middle East
Department of Foreign Affairs Republic of South Africa
J DO ESPIRITO SANTO
Ministry of External Relations
Republic of Angola