Deputy Minister Pahad to pay Official Visit to the Gulf

Pretoria: South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad on Saturday 3 March 2007 depart for the Gulf where he is scheduled to pay a two-legged official visit that will include Qatar and Iran from Sunday - Thursday 4-8 March 2007.

Deputy Minister Pahad will visit Qatar and Iran within the context of South Africa¡¯s priority to consolidate relations with all countries of the Gulf.

Qatar

Deputy Minister Pahad is scheduled to visit Qatar from Sunday ¨C Tuesday 4-6 March 2007 during which he will hold discussions with his counterpart, Minister of State for External Affairs Ahmed Abdullah al-Mahmoud on Sunday 4 March 2007.

Issues on the agenda of discussions between Deputy Minister Pahad and Minister of State al-Mahmoud are expected to include, among others:

· The status of bilateral political and economic relations between both countries;
· A briefing on the African developmental agenda including the consolidation of institutions of the African Union and the implementation of NEPAD;
· Conflict resolution and peacekeeping in Africa;
· A briefing on developments in the Gulf region including Iran¡¯s nuclear programme; and
· Developments in the Middle East Peace Process.

Deputy Minister Pahad is scheduled to depart from Qatar on Tuesday 6 March 2007 ahead of the 7th Council of Ministers Meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Co-operation (IOR-ARC) in Tehran, Iran.

Iran

Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad will lead the South African delegation to the 7th Council of Ministers Meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) in Tehran, Iran, scheduled from Wednesday ¨C Thursday 7-8 March 2007.

IOR-ARC Meeting is an important instrument to promote shared economic benefit between all member states of the Association and will in 2007 celebrate 10 years since the formal inauguration of the Association.

The South African delegation will participate in discussions seeking ways in which the IOR-ARC could be used as vehicle to unlock the vast potential of the region with the population of close to two billion people. The meeting will also elicit ways and means in which trade and investment flows, trade liberalisation, as well as the sustainable exploitation of the tourism potential of the Association¡¯s members could be enhanced.

The deliberations of the Working Groups will be focused on amongst others:
· Foreign Direct Investment
· Tourism Promotion and Development Projects
· Preferential Trading Agreement
· Economic Summit for leading business Executives of IOR-ARC
· An integrated coastal management programme
· Increased student and academic exchange within the region
· The promotion of inter-regional tourism
· Cross border financial services
· A fisheries protocol amongst members
· A review of the IOR-ARC Special Fund

The IOR-ARC is a multilateral organisation comprised of countries that share a shoreline along the Indian Ocean and was launched in March 1997 in Mauritius with a view to focus mainly on trade-related issues. The shared identity of a common historical experience of colonialism and imperialism also contributed to bringing together the leaders of states in the Indian Ocean region, basing regional cooperation on the past littoral economic, social and cultural communities as well as bridging a link between Africa, Asia and Australasia.

South Africa was one of the founding members of the IOR-ARC. The organisation is based on the principle of open regionalism, which is a flexible arrangement that compares very favourably with other regional arrangements such as preferential trade agreements, free trade areas, customs unions, common markets, etc. With several IOR-ARC member states sharing participation in other regional initiatives, the IOR-ARC plays an important role as building block for the promotion of south-south cooperation and for complimenting African-Asian regional integration.

IOR-ARC member states include Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. All these countries are washed by the Indian Ocean, whose shores has witnessed trade among people in the region for centuries.

Issued by Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853

Department of Foreign Affairs
Private Bag X152
Pretoria
0001
3 March 2007