[ Home ] [ Speeches & statements ]

BETWEEN SOUTH AFRICA AND TUNISIA FROM 01-03 APRIL 2001, IN TUNISIA.

Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will co-chair the Third Session of the Joint Bilateral Commission (JBC) between South Africa and Tunisia with the Tunisian Foreign Minister, Habib Ben Yahia. The JBC will be held from 1 to 3 April 2001 in Tunis. The South African delegation will consist of Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, officials from the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Sport, Trade and Industry and Agriculture. Such diverse institutions as Eskom, JSE and Water South Africa, to name but a few, will represent the non-governmental sector.

The aim of the JBC is to institutionalise the good relations that have been in existence between South Africa and Tunisia since official relations were established during 1993. The JBC will be used to discuss issues of national, binational, continental and international concern, such as the alleviation of the debt burden of the Third World, as well as manners of addressing the scourge of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The Tunisian JBC will be used to inaugurate the Department of Foreign Affairs' new policy that agreements should be given content, by means of projects and continuous interaction between the South African and Tunisian counterparts. It is expected that various projects would be identified during the interactions between the two delegations.

This very important event also addresses the core of what has become a vision towards revival, and by linking the extremities of our continent gives a symbolism to this JBC, emphasising the importance of President Mbeki 's visions of an African Renaissance.

The Joint Bilateral Commission (JBC) between South Africa and Tunisia was established in 1996, as a direct result of the good bilateral relations between the two countries. The second session of the JBC was held in Pretoria on 1 and 2 February 1999.

To date nine bilateral agreements have been signed within the framework of the JBC vis-à-vis co-operation in the fields of science and technology, arts and culture, public health and medical science, merchant shipping and tourism. It is expected that further agreements may be signed during the JBC. The nine agreements cover: an agreement establishing the JBC, an agreement on tourism co-operation, an air services agreement, Convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion, an agreement on co-operation in arts and culture, an agreement on co-operation in science and technology and a co-operation agreement on public health and medical science.

Contact: Basetsana Thokoane at 083 443 7740, 012 3510174

Issued by Department of Foreign Affairs

9 March 2001