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President Mbeki, accompanied by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Public Enterprises, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and Jeff Radebe, and the South African High Commissioner to Jamaica, Thanduyise Chiliza, will today - Tuesday, 1 July 2003 - travel to Ocho Rios for the 24th Meeting of the Heads of State of Caricom.

President Mbeki will also have bilateral meetings with Caricom Heads of State and Government such as Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Grenada, Commonwealth of Dominica, St Lucia and Guyana while in Ocho Rios.

President Mbeki, yesterday - Monday, 30 June 2003 - during the second day of a State Visit to Jamaica visited the National Heroes Park at which he paid homage to Marcus Mosiah Garvey, a hero who epitomises and embodies the struggles of the Jamaican people.

After President Mbeki and the delegation departed the National Heroes Park, the President met with the Leader of the Opposition, Edward Seaga, and later attended a luncheon hosted by the Governor-General and his wife, His Excellency Sir Howard Cooke and Lady Cooke, during which time President Mbeki signed a visitor's book.

President Mbeki and the South African delegation then proceeded to Mandela Park, an impoverished neighbourhood renamed after former President Nelson Mandela, where a warm and enthusiastic welcome awaited them.

Following the bestowal of the Keys to the City upon President Mbeki by the Mayor of Kingston was a vibrant cultural ceremony of song and dance.

The Presidential delegation then proceeded to the University of the West Indies where President Mbeki delivered a lecture on the African Diaspora. President Mbeki called on all Africans in the Diaspora and elsewhere on the African continent to celebrate the bicentenary of Haiti on its birth as the first black republic in the world. President Mbeki stated, "in our capacity as the current chair of the African Union, we have also put the matter of the celebration of the bicentenary of the Haitian revolution to the African Union, in the hope that all Africa can join in these celebrations. This celebration will take place as South Africa will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of our liberation from apartheid in 2004."

President Mbeki further indicated to the Caribbean intelligentsia gathered at the auditorium of the Faculty of Social Sciences that, "we have agreed with the Government of Haiti that, to the extent possible, we should work together to celebrate in an appropriate manner both anniversaries, informed by the fact that the victory of the African slaves in Haiti in 1804 was directly linked to the victory of the Africans oppressed in South Africa in 1994."

After a question and answer session, which addressed a wide range of issues such as South Africa's approach to the land question, both in South Africa and Zimbabwe, President Mbeki shared with the audience progress being made with regards to challenges facing the country, on issues of land redistribution, reparations and the health challenges.

For more information, contact: Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853, Nomfanelo Kota on 082 377 7208 or David Hlabane on 082 561 9428

Issued by Department of Foreign Affairs

1 July 2003