Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
11 September 2001
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Aziz Pahad will represent South Africa at the meeting of SADC Ministers in Blantyre, Malawi from 12th-15th September 2001.
At the SADC Summit in August this year, one of the most important items on the agenda was the restructuring of the operations of SADC Institutions which is expected to give Africa the institutional framework required to support the New African Initiative.
Discussions at this week's meeting will therefore focus primarily on the role the SADC countries will play in the implementation of the New African Initiative (MAP/Omega) and the mechanisms and way forward, including the operationalisation of the African Union.
Officials meeting on the 10th and 11th September will deal with both topics. The report prepared on the 12th September by officials will be discussed by the Ministers on the 13th September 2001.
Background The New African Initiative
The New African Initiative, a merger between the Millennium Partnership for the African Recovery Programme (MAP) and the Omega Plan is a detailed sustainable development project for the economic and social revival of African involving a constructive partnership between Africa and the developed world.
It is a pledge by African leaders, based on a common vision and a firm and shared conviction that they have a pressing duty to eradicate poverty and to place their countries, both individually and collectively, on a path of sustainable growth and development, and at the same time to participate actively in the world economy.
It is important that the New African Initiative (MAP/Omega) be linked to existing initiatives and programmes for Africa. The commitments undertaken in terms of these existing initiatives and programmes must be translated into concrete actions.
For further information, contact Ronnie Mamoepa at Cell. 082 990 4853