UNION BUILDINGS - 30 MARCH 2000
Vice Chancellor Fischer
Ambassador Ganz
Ambassador Bhengu
Members of the Commission
Ladies and Gentlemen
Allow me to extend to you the warmest African welcome as we join hands in an endeavour to forge a closer relationship between our two countries.
Our mutual endeavours to date dictate to us that the successes obtained so far only represent the beginning of an important process towards the further widening and deepening of the relations between our two countries.
Your presence here today illustrates to us Germany's continuing commitment to contribute in the transformation of South Africa. At 28 billion Rand, the increased trade between our two countries makes Germany one of South Africa's largest trading partners and South Africa your country's largest trading and investment partner in Africa.
This visit therefore underscores the significant and strong economic ties between our two countries. Germany also must be commended for its ongoing initiatives to promote the integration of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) into the global market.
Thus iit is a great honour for me to share the Chair of this Binational Commission with you, Vice Chancellor Fischer in the spirit of our strategic partnership. Allow me to express our appreciation for the spirit of co-operation, which has marked preparations for this second Binational Commission meeting.
Vice Chancellor, as South Africans and Africans, we seek to integrate ourselves ever more fully into the rapidly globalising world economy. We need strategic partners such as Germany. With your support we can ensure higher levels of growth and employment and increase the international competitiveness of our economy, thereby ensuring a better life for all of our citizens.
Mr Vice Chancellor, we have noted with interest and appreciation the fact that you, on your way to South Africa, visited Nigeria and Mozambique. This clearly illustrates Germany's commitment to the African continent. Allow me also to refer to the sound cooperation between South African and Germany in the multilateral field.
The excellent co-operation that South Africa experienced with Germany in securing a date for the annual interaction between the NAM Troika and the G-8 Presidency prior to the Cologne Summit in 1999 is a good example. The meeting in Cologne proved to be the most useful formula for engagement between the two groups at Foreign Ministerial level yet and proved to have enhanced the dialogue between North and South. It is important for South Africa and NAM to maintain the momentum of this positive development particularly in regard to the Japan Summit. Germany's constructive role in bringing about this interaction with developing countries is highly appreciated.
Our country's objectives for renewal present an opportunity for your country to further participate in the transformation of South Africa, co-operating with us in entrenching democracy in our country, region and continent.
For South Africa to develop into a competitive player in the global market, we need to achieve greater self-reliance. In this regard, the area of Human Resources Development demands particular and urgent attention. There is a need to extend our skills development base in order to address the pressing problem of unemployment. A focus on Human Resources Development therefore will enhance South Africa's national Reconstruction and development initiatives.
Ladies and gentlemen what all South Africans wish to achieve through this commission is visible results in the form of development co-operation, joint research, better utilisation of resources and trade and cultural exchange among other things. The results must be tangible so that the Binational Commission should not be an end in itself.
It is against this background, that I am pleased to announce that Vice Chancellor Fischer and myself have also agreed in principle this morning during our bilateral discussions, on the establishment of an additional committee namely, the Justice and Anti-Crime Co-operation Committee. This committee will facilitate co-operation in the field of criminal justice, building professional partnerships in the promotion of crime fighting initiatives, co-operation with regard to immigration, visa requirements, extradition, refugees and so on.
On the investment front, investment promotion and enhanced export opportunities for small micro and medium sized enterprises will form the basis of the deliberations by the Economic Committee.
Consideration will be given to measures to enhance penetration of the German market by this sector.
South Africa has embarked on a programme of restructuring state assets.
In this regard our government has recently adopted an accelerated agenda where the focus will be on ofur main economic sectors, namely transport, energy, telecommunications and the state defence related industries.
This programme is premised on our ability to rationalise, transform and propel the state owned enterprises inthese four sectors towards greater competitiveness. We aim to achieve these goals through strategic equity partnerships, management contracts, concessioning, public private partnerships, or the partial and outright sale of some entities.
South Africa would therefore like to propose that the Binational Commission examine the possibility of a more structured approach to German interest in our restructuring process through Direct Investment opportunities. Germany's continuous and active development co-operation support since 1994 of 378,35 Deutsche Mark split evenly between financial and technical co-operation has illustrated your country's constructive support in the reconstruction and development of our country. We are therefore looking forward to a strengthened relationship in the bilateral development co-operation programme in the areas of community development, public administration, education, especially vocational education and business and employment, primarily in the small, medium and micro enterprise sector.
Greater co-operation in the fields of science and technology will also promote the achievement of our objectives.
We look forward to further co-operation in areas such as materials research, environmental research, information technology and bio-technology.
Defence co-operation between our two countries is well on track. The two counterpart institutions have implemented training slots mutually beneficial which include vocational, technical and military leadership training, to mention but a few. We look forward to the German naval Task Group's visit to South Africa from 8 April - 6 May this year, during which various combined exercises are planned.
The Environment Committee continued its deliberation on the exchange of environmental expertise, capacity building and partnerships in line with international conventions. We look forward to further discussions on matters such as technical co-operation in developing sustainable management practices and in encouraging responsible eco-tourism.
In the current global environment, economic and cultural factors that once kept us apart now serve as points of convergence that bring people and diverse cultures closer. For this reason the new special committee created within the Binational Commission to deal with culture is significant.
Ladies and gentlemen, in a climate of democracy and economic security there tends to be greater respect for human rights, as experience has proved, not only in African democracies but also in Europe. It is imperative that all of us should unite to tackle the challenges that lie ahead of us to entrench democracy in our continent.
I wish to join my South African colleagues here today in wishing our German visitors a happy, enjoyable and productive visit to our country.
I thank you.