Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
4 February 2002
Your Excellency Dr Kharazzi,
Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you Minister for your warm welcome and for the generous hospitality provided to me and my delegation. This is now my third visit to Tehran, so I feel at home here.
As your Excellency can see, I have a large delegation with representatives from many different Government Departments and private sector organisations. This demonstrates the seriousness which South Africa attaches to this meeting and we trust that the meeting will make a significant contribution to the continuing development of the good relations that exist between our two countries.
It is a great pleasure for me to have my fellow Cabinet colleague, Dr Manto Tshabalala Msimang, our Minister of Health, with me. I am sorry that in the end, circumstances did not allow my colleague, Dr Vali Moosa, our Minister of Environment and Tourism, to accompany me but he has assured me that he intends to honour his invitation to visit Iran soon.
At the last Joint Commission meeting in Pretoria in August 2000, my delegation placed considerable emphasis on the role that trade plays in our relations. To show that trade continues to be of great concern to South Africa, I have a number of private sector business people in my delegation. I hope that as this meeting it will be possible to take concrete steps to seriously reduce the huge imbalance that continues to exist in our bilateral trade.
Health is a very important issue in my country, and throughout Africa, so I am very pleased that it was possible for my colleague, Dr Manto Tshabalala Msimang, to join me here in Tehran. The officials from her Ministry that are accompanying her hope to succeed in arranging cooperation between our two countries, particularly in the fields of malaria eradication and kidney disease treatment. In the New Partnership for African Development, known as NEPAD, health issues feature very high on the list of priorities for the African continent, so any assistance which Iran can provide to South Africa, and Africa as a whole, in this field will be gratefully received.
During the last meeting in Pretoria, discussions were held about South Africa benefiting from Iranian expertise in the field of beneficiation of precious metals and the making of jewellery. Not only could this help many people in my country, but throughout Africa such expertise is needed. South Africa has developed an excellent reputation over many years in the field of mining technology. This is technology which South Africa wants to share with all her friends.
Also during the last Joint Commission, discussions were initiated in the field of cooperation to stop the illicit drug trade that has become such a scourge in the world. South Africa is aware of the actions taken by Iran to try and stem the flow of heroine from Afghanistan. With a new government now in that country, South Africa and Iran can perhaps help the Afghanis develop a new economy that will not depend on illicit drug earnings. Drugs cause serious damage to many people in the world, so all responsible nations need to work together to eliminate this problem.
At the time of the last meeting, South Africa was the Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement, a Chair that we still hold. Iran was then about to give up its Chair of the OIC but now Iran is the Chair of the G77 and is very active in the IOR - ARC organisation of which my country was a founder member. Both our countries are respected in international fora where we need to increase our co-operation to help achieve the goals of the countries of the South and in particular help to improve living conditions in Africa. Conflicts in the world such as those in Africa and the war between Palestine and Israel, will not solved overnight but all countries that can assist to resolve such conflicts must do so for these sake of humankind. The New Partnership for African Development places emphasis on the development of democracy and good governance without which the human rights of all people in the world cannot be guaranteed.
A right that all humans ought to enjoy throughout the world, is the right to a healthy environment to live in. Sadly this is not the case. Later this year, South Africa will have the privilege to host the World Summit on Sustainable Development. My country looks forward to working with Iran to ensure that the goal of a healthy environment for all the people on earth is achieved.
As the links between our two countries grow and strengthen, it is my hope that it will be possible to increase the people to people contact between South Africa and Iran. We need to do more to make our diverse cultures known to each other and to this end, it is hoped that the proposed Cultural Agreement between our two countries will be finalised and that the Scientific Agreement that was signed in the year 2000 will begin to be seriously implemented.
Your Excellency, may I take this opportunity to thank you and your colleagues for all the arrangements that have been made for this meeting and as our delegations split into their two working groups, I would encourage them to strive for the best outcome of their discussions.
Thank you.