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President Kabila to arrive in South Africa Pretoria -
South African President Thabo Mbeki will host his counterpart from the Democratic
Republic of Congo, President Joseph Kabila, on a State Visit scheduled to take
place from Thursday 14 to Friday 15 June 2007. President Kabila is scheduled to
arrive in South Africa on Wednesday 13 June 2007 whereupon he will hold discussions
with President Mbeki at Tuynhuys in Cape Town on Thursday 14 June 2007. These
discussions will take place within the context of South Africa's commitment to
consolidate relations with the DRC and to support the political, economic, reconciliation
and nation building processes in the country. Issues on the agenda of discussions
between Presidents Mbeki and Kabila on Thursday 14 June 2007 are expected to include: - The
status of bilateral political and economic relations between both countries including
future and sustained co-operation;
- A briefing by President Kabila on
recent political developments in the DRC including the vital security sector reform;
- Support
from the international community, including the United Nations, for political
and economic processes in the DRC;
- A briefing from President Mbeki on
the recently concluded G-8 + 5 and African outreach session; and
- Other
issues of mutual interest.
The DRC remains one of the foreign policy
pillars of South Africa's engagement on the African continent. South Africa's
assistance to the DRC is informed by its vision of an "African Renaissance"
of peace, stability and security and sustained renewal, growth and socio-economic
development for the African continent. Accordingly, South Africa is committed
to a strategy for post conflict reconstruction and development in the DRC that
is aligned with that of the African Union and NEPAD. Hence, its assistance to
the DRC is broadly based on 3 key areas, which are: the Security Sector Reform
(SSR), Institutional capacity building and Economic development. South Africa
assisted the DRC in organising its first democratic election on 30 July 2006 with
the second round following on 29 October 2006. The South African Government deployed
a 108-member National Observer Team, in all eleven (11) provinces, which observed
both rounds of the DRC elections. This was done within the framework of the Bi-National
Commission (BNC) agreement which was signed between the two countries in 2004.
The BNC further paved the way for engagement in the DRC by the South African Government
Departments of Foreign Affairs, Public Service and Administration, Defence, Home
Affairs, Trade and Industry, the South African Police Service, Provincial and
Local Government, Transport, Minerals and Energy, Housing, Agriculture, Social
Development, SARS, SAMDI and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). Priority
was given to areas critical to electoral support and subsequent to the successful
elections, this support was extended to enhance capacity building in governance
structures and security sector reform. Given the magnitude of the task,
it is clear that the reconstruction process in the DRC will continue to require
international support. In this regard, South Africa is supporting the DRC by sharing
its experience of engaging the international community and international financial
institutions in the processes of reconstruction, development and nation building.
South Africa also welcomes the renewed MONUC mandate which has been extended
to December 2007. The mandate authorises the deployment of 17, 030 military personnel
and 1 900 military observers, police and police trainers, and spells out the United
Nations role to train the Congolese armed forces and police in observing human
rights. The maintenance of the MONUC force in the DRC will contribute to contain
the violence committed by armed militia especially in the volatile eastern part
of the country. During the State Visit, President Joseph Kabila will get
an opportunity to address a Joint Sitting of the South African Parliament and
interact with the South African Business sectors. It is anticipated that the business
meeting will attract investments and explore business incentives and opportunities
for South African companies in the DRC. President Kabila will also visit the North
West Province and the Royal Bafokeng community in particular, in order to experience
how the latter benefit from the mining activities. Media
Programme for State Visit to South Africa by President of Democratic Republic
of Congo Joseph Kabila, Wednesday 13 - Friday 15 June 2007
Issued
by Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853 Department of Foreign Affairs
Private
Bag X152
Pretoria
0001 12 June 2007
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