Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
16 July 2002
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will lead discussions at the meeting of representatives of Friends of the Chair for World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) which will be held in New York, USA on Wednesday 17 July.
Minister Dlamini Zuma's delegation includes Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Valli Moosa, Adv. Mojanku Gumbi and Ambassador Dumisane Khumalo, SA's Permanent Representative to the UN.
The meeting is part of efforts led by President Thabo Mbeki (who will become chair of WSSD) to find consensus between developing and developed nations ahead of the hosting of WSSD. In this regard, the meeting will take stock of preparations for WSSD and discuss some of the outstanding issues that flowed from the fourth Preparatory Committee meeting held in Bali recently.
The decision to establish the Friends of the Chair flowed from a meeting held between President Thabo Mbeki and the UN Secretary-General held in Canada during the recent G8 meeting.
Consequently, President Thabo Mbeki decided to invite a select group of countries based on geographical representation, common interest in resolving outstanding issues and their overall commitment to the success of the World Summit in Sustainable Development.
These include Nigeria; Uganda; Senegal; Egypt; Brazil; Ghana; Jordan; Canada; Argentina; China; Denmark; France; Germany; Italy; India; Indonesia; Jamaica; Japan; Mexico; Norway; Russia; Sweden; UK; USA and Venezuela.
It is hoped that representatives to the Friends of Chair meeting will be attended by either Ministers or Sherpas who will have the responsibility of reporting back to the Heads of State or Government of the countries that have been invited to participate.
For more information contact:
a.Ronnie Mamoepa at 27-82-990-4853
b.Ambassador Dumisane Khumalo at 212-692-2480