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Minster Dlamini Zuma to Lead South African Delegation to South-South
Summit on Behalf of President Thabo Mbeki Doha - South African Foreign Minister
Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, on behalf of President Thabo Mbeki, will now lead the
South African delegation to the G-77 + China (South-South) Summit, in Doha, Qatar
scheduled from Wednesday - Thursday, 15-16 June 2005. Minister Dlamini
Zuma and her delegation will participate in the Summit within the context of South
Africa's stated commitment to strengthen South-South relations with a view to: ·
Increasing market access, trade and investment among countries of the South;
·
Obtaining support for the agenda of the South globally; and
· Promoting
North-South relations for increased market access, trade and investment. The
South Summit is the largest gathering of leaders of the South since the recently
held Africa-Asia Summit of Heads of state and government held in Jakarta, Indonesia
from 21-22 April 2005. The Summit will be the last before the UN Millenium
Summit and the UN General Assembly in September this year in which the implementation
of the Millenium Development Goals as well as the reform of the UN system will
come under close scrutiny. Accordingly, the South-South Summit is expected
to: · Examine global strategies and policies to enhance co-operation
among developing countries and combat problems and face the challenges of the
21st Century, with particular reference to globalisation;
· Readjust
the G-77 and China vision for South-South co-operation, taking into account the
new world context, that is characterised by accelerated globalisation and the
interdependence of national economies;
· Re-examine existing G-77 and
China priorities and extract from existing plans of action components that should
be implemented on an accelerated basis over the next three to five years;
·
Review progress towards the Millennium Development Goals ahead of the High Level
Summit on the Millennium Declaration to be held in New York from 14-16 September
2005; and
· Deliberate on the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi
Annan's report on the reform on the United Nations and how these would impact
on the challenges faced by the developing world. The G77 effectively provides
the means for the developing world to articulate and promote its collective economic
interests and enhance its joint negotiating capacity on mainly economic and development
issues within the United Nations system, and to promote and strengthen economic
and technical co-operation among developing countries themselves. Issued
by Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853
Department of Foreign Affairs
Private
Bag X152
Pretoria
0001
14 June 2005
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