Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to Pay Official
Visit to South Africa, Tshwane, South Africa Monday, 25 - Wednesday, 27 July 2005
Tshwane
- South African President Thabo Mbeki will host Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi for bilateral political and economic discussions at the Union Buildings
in Tshwane on Tuesday, 26 July 2005.
Prime Minister Badawi will pay an official
visit to South Africa from Monday - Wednesday, 25-27 July 2005. Prime Minister
Badawi will be accompanied by the Ministers of Housing and Local Government, Works,
Prime Minister's Department, International Trade and Industry, Tourism, Industry,
Plantation and Commodities.
This visit comes in the context of South Africa's
commitment to strengthen South-South co-operation bilaterally and through the
fora of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), ASEAN and Africa-Asia co-operation (AASROC).
In this regard, Malaysia is the current chair of NAM with South Africa and Cuba
being members of the Troika in their capacities as former and incoming chairs.
South
Africa is also committed to increasing South-South co-operation for increased
market access, trade and investment in the interests of alleviating poverty and
underdevelopment that is prevalent in both Africa and Asia. In this regard, the
New Africa-Asia Strategic Partnership adopted at the conclusion of the Africa-Asia
Summit in Indonesia in April 2005 highlighted that strong historical political
relations between both regions should be translated into stronger economic co-operation.
President
Mbeki will host Prime Minister Badawi for discussions at the Union Buildings on
Tuesday, 26 July 2005. Issues on the agenda are expected to include, among others:
The
status of bilateral political and economic relations between both countries;
Opportunities
for increased African Union - ASEAN relations through the gateways of South Africa
and Malaysia, as outlined in the Afro-Asian Strategic Partnership adopted at the
end of the Africa-Asia Summit in Indonesia in April 2005;
President Mbeki
is expected to brief Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on the outcomes of the
recently concluded G-8 Summit and the implications for the agenda of the South;
The forthcoming Review of the Millennium Development Summit in New York
from 14-16 September and the 60th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
where the comprehensive reform of the United Nations and all its institutions
will be high on the agenda;
Developments within the Non-Aligned Movement
(NAM) as Malaysia is the current chair and South Africa the former. Preparations
for the next Summit to be hosted by Cuba will be reviewed; and
Progress
in the achievement of the African Union through the operationalisation of the
institutions of the African Union (AU) and the implementation of NEPAD.
While
in South Africa, Prime Minister Badawi is also expected to visit Freedom Park,
interact with South African captains of industry at a Business Forum in Sandton,
officially open the Club House at the Blue Valley Golf and Country Club in Midrand
and interact with members of the Malaysian diaspora based in South Africa.
Bilateral
Trade Relations (ZA Rand'000) (Source: DTI)
TOP 5 TRADED PRODUCTS BETWEEN
SOUTH AFRICA AND MOZAMBIQUE (2002)
Year
SA
Exports
SA Imports
Total
Trade
1994
348,954
748,003
1,096,957
1995
661,682
892,332
1,554,014
1996
742,534
1,076,632
1,819,166
1997
1,150,030
1,305,092
2,455,122
1998
396,181
1,780,970
2,177,151
1999
749,993
1,781,826
2,177,151
2000
1,109,222
2,062,585
3,171,807
2001
1,524,001
2,448,658
3,972,659
2002
2,010,334
3,643,829
5,654,163
2003
1,856,420
3,019,636
4,876,056
2004
1,335,434
2,448,172
3,783,606
Apart
from an agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations and an air services
agreement, South Africa and Malaysia signed a Trade Agreement as well as a Shipping
Agreement in 1997. An Economic, Technical, Scientific and Cultural Co-operation
Agreement, inter alia providing for a Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) on Economic,
Technical, Scientific and Cultural Co-operation, was signed during the State Visit
to Malaysia by President Mbeki at the beginning of September 2003.
Issued
by Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853 Department of Foreign Affairs Private
Bag X152 Pretoria 0001 24 July 2005
