VISIT OF DEPUTY MINISTER AZIZ PAHAD TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs

5 June 2001

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Aziz Pahad, departs South Africa on Wednesday 6 June for a visit to the Russian Federation from 7 to 9 June 2001 to hold political consultations with his Russian counterpart, Deputy Minister Vassily Sredin. The Deputy Minister will be accompanied by Dr. Rob Adam, Director-General of DACST and several influential persons from the fields of science, technology and education.

The political consultations flow from the Protocol on Consultations between the South African Department of Foreign Affairs and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that was signed in September 1994.

The visits to South Africa by the Russian Foreign Minister, Mr Igor Ivanov, and the Russian President, Mr Vladimir Putin, will also be discussed. The visit is aimed at discussing matters of mutual interest between South Africa and the Russian Federation. Some of the issues that will feature on the agenda include:

• The Millennium Africa Recovery Programme (MAP);
  
• Restructuring of the UN and the IMF and World Bank;
  
• G8 meeting in Genoa in July 2001;
  
• The Middle East Crisis;
  
• Conflict resolution in Africa with particular reference to Angola and DRC
  
• Multilateral Co-operation

Some economic issues that will be include:

• The next session of the Joint Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Co-operation (ITEC). A Trade and Economic Agreement between South Africa and the Russian Federation was signed on 22 October 1993.
• Trade between South Africa and Russia have steadily increased. Amongst Russia's African trading partners, South Africa holds the second position after Egypt based on trade turnover. Total turn-over of trade between South Africa and Russia amounted to 6 381 573 and R776 568 159, for 1999 and 2000 respectively.
• The next session of the Joint Commission on Science and Technology (JCST);
• Status of bilateral agreements, including the Friendship Treaty, the Agreement on the Mutual Recognition and Equivalence of the Educational Documents and Scientific Degrees and the Agreement on Co-operation in the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy.

The DACST delegation will meet with the Deputy Minister of Industry, Science and Technology, Mr Tereshchenko, who is the Russian Co-chair of the Joint Commission on Science and Technology (JCST), Russian experts in laser technology and research, specialists from the Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology involved in cooperation regarding the South African Laser Centre, representatives of the relevant Russian technology transfer agency and the Head of the Russian Scientific Statistics Centre.

For more information contact Ronnie Mamoepa At 082-990-4853