|
Deputy Minister Pahad arrives in Qatar ahead of Official Visit Doha
- South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad today Sunday 4 March 2007 arrived
in Doha, Qatar where he is scheduled to pay an official visit scheduled from Sunday
- Tuesday 4-6 March 2007. Deputy Minister Pahad will visit Qatar within
the context of South Africa's priority to consolidate relations with all countries
of the Gulf. Deputy Minister Pahad will hold discussions with his counterpart,
Minister of State for External Affairs Ahmed Abdullah al-Mahmoud on Monday 5 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. Bilateral
Economic Relations Sasol and Qatar Petroleum entered into a US$900mn
joint venture to construct a gas-to-liquid facility at Ras Lafan. The plant was
inaugurated on 6 June 2006 by Minister of Minerals and Energy Bulelwa Sonjica.
Qatar hosted the Asian Games in December 2006 and several South African
construction companies have benefited from infrastructure projects related to
the Games. Foremost among these is Murray & Roberts, which finished construction
of the multipurpose Khalifa Stadium in Doha in June 2005. Genrec of South
Africa was awarded a R200mn contract to supply all the structural steel for this
project. Future infrastructure and development projects in Qatar over the next
few years are likely to be substantial. These include new oil and gas facilities,
ports, an airport, several new roads, hotels, museums and residential compounds,
all offering opportunities for South Africa. In terms of trade relations,
Qatar has traditionally enjoyed a healthy trade surplus, due to its export of
crude oil to South Africa. According to the latest figures released by the South
African Revenue Service (SARS), South African exports reached R134, 940,126 for
the year to the end of November 2006. About half of South Africa's exports to
Qatar consist of iron and steel products. Imports from Qatar for the year to the
end of November 2006 reached R1 184 628 366, consisting almost exclusively of
crude oil. | Year | SA
Exports | SA Imports | Total
Trade | | 2002 | R43
565mn | R429 545mn | R482
553mn | | 2003 | R55
087mn | R344 187mn | R405
661mn | | 2004 | R66
574mn | R684 211mn | R751
701mn | | 2005 | R78
509mn | R991 948 mn | R1
070 457bn | | 2006 (Jan-Nov) | R134,940,126 | R1
184 628 366 | R 1 319 568 492 |
Issued
by Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853
Department of Foreign Affairs
Private
Bag X152
Pretoria
0001 4 March 2007 | 
