Joint Declaration of the IV Session of Joint Bilateral Commission for the Economic, Scientific, Technical and Commercial Cooperation between the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of Cuba

In accordance with what is established in Article I of the Agreement on the Establishment of the Joint Bilateral Commission for the Economic, Scientific, Technical and Commercial Cooperation between the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of Cuba, signed on 5 February 2001, the IV Session of the Joint Bilateral Commission was held on 28 and 29 September 2005, in the City of Havana, Republic of Cuba.

The South African Delegation was chaired by Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Cuban delegation was chaired by Ms. Marta Lomas Morales, Minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation.

Prior to the IV Session, several working meetings among the experts of different sectors were carried out.

The composition of both Delegations appears in Annexes I and II of this document.

The two Parties reviewed a Report on progress made in the cooperation between the two Countries since the III Session of the Joint Bilateral Commission between 2003 and 2005. The Parties expressed satisfaction at the achievements attained and the strengthening of the ties of collaboration by both Countries.

At the opening ceremony on 28 September 2005, the heads of both delegations highlighted the strong bonds of friendship and solidarity that unite the governments and peoples from the two Countries. They both expressed the need to strengthen the practical implementation of the programmes agreed on in a wide range of activities.

Agenda

I. Programme of Economic, Scientific, Technical and Commercial Cooperation for the period of 2005-2007

II. Date and Venue for the V Session of the Joint Bilateral Commission for Economic, Scientific, Technical and Commercial Cooperation

The Commission adopted the Agenda and the Programme of Economic, Scientific, Technical and Commercial Cooperation for 2005-2007, in the following sectors:

I Trade, Investments and Finance

Trade

On assessing their bilateral trade, the Parties noted with concern the relatively low present level of trade between the two Countries, despite the potential to perform better in this regard.

In the light of the above, the two sides undertook to exchange information and continue to discuss the proposal presented by Cuba towards the end of 2004, concerning the possibility of negotiating a Trade Compensation Agreement.

The Parties agreed to cooperate in facilitating the participation of each other's entrepreneurs in their respective trade fairs. In this regard, both Parties, noted with satisfaction the participation last year, free of charge, in each other's fairs, SAITEX, in the case of South Africa, and the Havana International Fair, in the case of Cuba.

It was agreed that both sides would explore the possibility of similar cooperation with respect to trade fairs taking place in 2006.

The South African side noted with appreciation the invitation to its Minister of Trade and Industry to visit Cuba during the 23rd Havana International Fair and indicated that it will provide a response as soon as possible.

The two sides have expressed interest in the exchange of information and expertise with a view of cooperating in the production of generic medicines and promoting the transfer of technology in this regard.


Investment Promotion

The Cuban Party will provide information on two projects of business opportunities in the Cuban sugar industry, which are related to a co-generating power plant, using sugar cane bagasse as fuel and a refinery for the production of fuel alcohol, with a view to the identification of potential South African investors.

The Cuban Party expressed interest in participating with personnel and technical services jointly with South African institutions, in the sugar industry development of that country and on the African continent.

The Cuban Party, represented by Heber Biotec SA, requested the South African Department of Health to analyse the possibility to extend for an additional period of 5 years, the enforcement of the Supply Contract, signed by the Department of Health of South Africa and the joint-venture Biovac Institute, in order to guarantee the process of transferred technology and the development of combined vaccines agreed upon by the Parties.

The South African delegation committed to look into the possibility of such an extension after a review of progress in 2006, before the lapse of the agreement in 2007.

The Cuban Party delivered a proposal of amendments for the Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments, signed on 8 December 2005, between the two Countries.

The South African Party took note of this proposal and will give an answer as soon as possible.

Finance

With a view to culminating the negotiations of the Agreement to Avoid Double Fiscal Taxation, the Cuban Party invited the South African Party to have the third round of talks in Havana, during the first quarter of 2006.

II Mining and Energy

Both Parties expressed their satisfaction with the results achieved during the recent visit by the Director General of the Department of Minerals and Energy of South Africa, Mr. Sandile Nogxina, to the Ministry of Basic Industry of Cuba.

Both Parties expressed the desire to try their utmost to fulfil the Plan of Action, stemming from the Memorandum of Intention in the areas of Minerals and Energy, signed on 9 September 2005, by the Cuban Ministry of Basic Industry and the South African Department of Minerals and Energy.

III Communications

Both Parties revised the implementation of the Agreements adopted in the field of Informatics and Communications.

The Cuban Party submitted a proposal made by the Cuban members to the Joint Committee and committed itself to reply, at their earliest convenience, to the Implementation Plan delivered during the visit to Cuba by the Director for International Relations at the Department of Communications, Mr. Moseamo Sebola, in October 2004.

The South African Party shall report on who will be part of the Joint Committee, as soon as possible.

Television

The Cuban Party requested a response to the draft Agreement of Cooperation in Broadcasting and Television, which was submitted in the context of the last Session of the Joint Bilateral Commission.

IV Construction

Public Works

The Parties have agreed to conclude the negotiations on the Cooperation Agreement in the sphere of Public Works. Both Parties agreed to sign the Agreement at the end of November 2005.

The Cuban Ministry of Construction and the South African Department of Public Works agreed that further areas of cooperation be explored, which could include, among others, the following:

- Establishment of links between Cuban and South African enterprises;

- Explore areas of trade cooperation in the areas of materials production and research;

- Consider exchange programmes for young South Africans and Cubans in both Countries. Both Parties agreed, as soon as possible, to specify the specialities and number of technicians to train.

Parties agreed that the South African Party will consider the training programmes offered by the Cuban Party in the construction field. The Cuban Party agreed to supply their South African counterpart with the English translated versions of their training programme.

Housing

Both Parties commit themselves:

- To work in the best interest of their countries to ensure sustenance of the programme

- To enhance the Skills Transfer Programme (setting clear targets and timeframes) in order to meet the objectives of the Agreement. This is to happen as soon as possible.

- The recruitment of the additional Technical Advisors by the respective provinces, with the assistance of UNECA, be implemented as soon as possible. The South African Party agrees to provide information on the skills and the number of Technical Advisors required. The Cuban counterparts commit themselves to submit, within the agreed period of 30 days, the detailed CV's of potential candidates and further ensure that professionals are ready for deployment.

- That where certification is a requirement, both Parties further explore the registration of Cuban Technical Advisors with South African professional bodies/ council, an issue which will be undertaken jointly with the Department of Public Works
- Further explore the scope of the programme beyond the People's Housing Process, to consider integration of other National Housing Programmes, including Project Consolidate and Expanded Public Works Programmes.

- That the Cooperation Agreement between South Africa and Cuba be reviewed after every two years

V Water Affairs

The Parties reflected on the implementation of their obligations on the existing Cooperation Agreement, related to the 13 Cuban specialists working in South Africa. Both Parties expressed their pleasure about the good results of this assistance.

The South African Party reported on their needs for future cooperation, based on:

- 84 municipalities without an engineer or technician (risks include drinking water quality and quantity)

- 136 municipalities under Project Consolidate (immediate hands-on support) planning: water resources, water supply and sanitation.

- Assistance in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (Water Supply 2008 and Sanitation 2010)

- Ad hoc needs due to climate changes, e.g. floods.

Both Parties identified different ways to implement cooperation in the above areas, such as: exchange of experts; special courses to be conducted in Cuba or South Africa.

Agree in principle to a possibility of the future establishment of a Joint Venture Enterprise in the field of Water Resources.

VI Health

The South African Party reiterated the request for a reply to the proposals of modifications to the Agreement of Cooperation in Health, which was signed in March 2001, and submitted in the context of the last Session of the Joint Bilateral Commission.

The Cuban Party stated that it will maintain the collaborators that are currently serving in the Republic of South Africa, for as long as it is necessary, without needing to amend the Agreement that is currently in force.

The South African Party reiterated the request for fifteen (15) additional scholarships for this coming year for the study of Medicine, in addition to the sixty (60) scholarships granted by the Cuban Government to the Republic of South Africa.

The Cuban Party took note of these requests and shall give an answer as soon as possible.

VII Education

The Parties agreed to continue with the bilateral cooperation in the following areas:

Literacy: A Cuban expert will be invited to serve on a Ministerial Committee on Literacy in South Africa to render assistance in the development of a literacy strategy, before the end of 2005.

Mathematics, Science and Technology: Through the exchange of experience and practical knowledge, transferring contents, skills and expertise to South African teachers, who will participate in short courses and training programmes in Cuba.

Higher Education

During the visit of the Deputy Minister of Education of Cuba to South Africa in February 2005, he shared Cuban collaboration proposals with the institutions he visited. Cuba requested South Africa to assist in following up on the proposals and to facilitate contact with South African institutions. South Africa will provide Cuba with the contact details of higher education institutions in South Africa as Cuba would like to extend invitations for representatives to attend the Conference on Higher Education, scheduled to take place in Havana, Cuba, in February 2006.

VIII Sport and Recreation

Both Parties expressed their satisfaction at the level reached in the links of cooperation in Sport, which were reaffirmed with the visit to South Africa, in April of 2005, by the First Vice-president of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation, Mr. Christian Jiménez Molina.

The Parties will coordinate the following:

- visits by South African boxing and volleyball coaches to Cuba, as well as Cuban coaches visiting South Africa, in order to exchange coaching expertise;

- the visit to South Africa by two Cuban baseball coaches; and

- the visits by experts in high performance sports of both countries, to exchange expertise in this field.

Both Parties expressed their willingness to maintain collaboration and sport exchanges, in accordance with the bilateral Cooperation Agreement, signed in March 2001.

The Cuban Party reiterated the invitation to the Minister of Sports and Recreation, Mr. M. A. Stofile, to visit Cuba at his convenience.

IX Agriculture

The South African Party handed to the Cuban Party the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Matters, signed by the South African Minister of Agriculture in Pretoria on 20 September 2005, to be signed by the Cuban Party and handed back to the South African Party through diplomatic channels.

Both Parties exchanged information on animal diseases and plant pests and shall send each other documentation with regard to domestic law, guidelines and procedures currently in force in their respective countries.

The South African Party shall request an official clarification from the Department of Agriculture on the reasons for the suspension of the veterinary programme.

The Cuban Party reaffirmed its willingness to provide veterinary specialists, trained in the English language, as requested by South African Party.

Both Parties agreed upon an exchange programme of specialists in plant and animal health by March 2006.

Both Parties agreed to analyse the sanitary and phytosanitary regulations for the import of specific products that may emerged in future, after trade and commercial aspects have been investigated.

Both Parties agreed to exchange technical information and shall promote contact between specialists in various scientific fields within both Ministries.

Both Parties agreed to continue the cooperation in the field to be identified to this end information exchange shall take place.

With the purpose of concluding the bilateral Cooperation Agreement, both parties will follow up the current negotiations that should be finalised by February 2006.

X Art and Culture

Both Parties expressed their satisfaction at the level reached in the collaboration between the Ministries of Culture of the two Countries, and reaffirmed the will to continue working on the Implementation Plan for the Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Arts and Culture, which was signed on 27 March 2001.

XI Science and Technology

Pursuant to the implementation of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA), signed on 29 March 2001, and translated into a Plan of Action, as contained in the Programme of Cooperation (PoC), signed on 29 May 2004, both Parties wish to express their commitment to develop the evolving cooperation in Science and Technology. In order to implement the actions as espoused in the PoC, the Parties have taken upon themselves to approach the PoC through focusing on a few projects to concentrate efforts for success. The Parties will concentrate on Biotechnology in the following areas:

- Cholera Vaccine - joint development of the Cholera vaccine, including clinical trials and commercialisation. Discussions on intellectual property arrangements will be finalised by the end of 2005.

- Potential Cooperation in other monoclonal antibodies (vaccines) such as for TB, malaria and cancer.

- Bio-pharming - the use of plants to produce pharmaceuticals.

- The exchange of personnel (expertise) :

• South African experts participated in the 4th International Congress of the Centre for Scientific Research in June 2005 in Havana.
• Cuban experts are being invited to participate in the Bio-to-Biz Conference in October 2005 in South Africa

- Training of Human Resources

The modalities of cooperation are as indicated in the PoC.

XII Justice

The Cuban Party provided the South African Party with its comments regarding the draft Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition, with the aim to continue negotiations for future signature.

The South African Party will provide the Cuban Party with its comments regarding the draft on the Cooperation Agreements to Fight Illicit Traffic of Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, with the aim to continue negotiations for future signature.

The South African Party committed itself to give its response as soon as possible.

XIII Labour/Social Development and Welfare

Labour

A Cooperation Agreement in the Field of Labour was signed between the two Parties in March 2004 in South Africa. The areas of cooperation are social security, employment and occupational health & safety.

As part of the implementation process 21 Employment Services Practitioners (ESP2's) undertook a study tour to Cuba from 27 August- 13 September 2005. The purpose of the visit was to learn from the Cuban system of Community Development Workers.

The Minister of Labour, Mr. MMS Mdladlana, joined the delegation in Cuba from 10 to 16 September 2005. The Minister held bilateral discussions with his counterpart on the development regarding cooperation between the two Departments, with specific emphasis on occupational safety in the workplace.

Social Development and Welfare

The Parties (South African Department of Social Development and Cuban Ministry of Labour and Social Security) finalised the Cooperation Agreement. The Agreement is to be signed by the respective Ministries on a date to be mutually agreed upon, which date shall not be later than March 2006. In the spirit of this Agreement, the Cuban Party extended an invitation to the South African Minister of Social Development to visit Cuba to attend a Conference on Social Security in March 2006.

The Parties have also finalised an Implementation Plan of Activities to be undertaken before the V Session of the Joint Bilateral Commission in 2007.

X IV Transport

The two Parties agreed that Cuba will avail 12 professionals in the maritime and ports sector for employment in the Republic of South Africa. This will be done in line with provisions and implementation of the Merchant Shipping Agreement and decisions of the Joint Bilateral Merchant Shipping Technical Committee (JBMSTC) established in 2003.

The Cuban Party shall hand in a draft bilateral Agreement dealing with the mutual recognition of qualifications of maritime professionals in terms of the STCW-95 Convention for consideration by the South African Party.

Other areas of cooperation will include the development of infrastructure in the following fields:

- Ports, rails & roads
- Human Resource development in all areas of transport (land & sea)

The South African party requested support from the Cuban Party for the training of 18 000 South African technicians in the transport area within the next five years. To this end the South African party will submit the technical requirement for capacity building of those specialists in South Africa.

The Cuban Party took note of the request and will give a response as soon as possible

All of the transport sector initiatives will form part of the pillars of the Memorandum of Intent (MoI) to be negotiated by both Parties

XV Scholarships

The Cuban Party expressed its interest in continuing to offer the South African Party sixty (60) scholarships for the studies of Medicine, which have been granted for the last years.

For the 2005-2006 course, the Cuban Party has granted two (2) scholarships for the International School of Physical Education and Sports to the South African Party.

XVI Triangular Cooperation Cuba-South Africa-Rwanda

The Parties expressed their satisfaction with the beginning of the triangular cooperation that takes place in the Republic of Rwanda receiving funds from the Republic of South Africa and assisted by Cuban Specialists on the Health sector.

XVII Cooperation for the Caribbean

During the meetings of the Joint Commission Secretariat, held from October 20th to 24th, 2004, the Parties discussed the topic of Early Warnings against Hurricanes in the Caribbean. In that regard, the Parties agreed to exchange information for possible further cooperation.

Date and Venue of the V Session of the Joint Bilateral Commission

Both Parties expressed their satisfaction at the friendly, warm and frank atmosphere in which the talks were conducted, which reflects the excellent bonds of comradeship between the two States and peoples.

The Commission agreed to hold a Meeting at Secretariat level in Pretoria, in the third quarter of 2006, in order to review the Programme of Cooperation. At the same time, they agreed to hold the V Session of the Joint Bilateral Commission in the City of Pretoria, in the last quarter of 2007.

Done in the City of Havana, Republic of Cuba, on the twenty-ninth (29) day of September of 2005, in two originals in Spanish and English languages, both texts having equal validity.

Annex II

COMPOSITION OF THE CUBAN DELEGATION