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Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to Attend 6th Nordic - Africa
Informal Ministerial Consultations in Norway Pretoria - South
African Foreign Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will depart for Olso, Norway,
today Sunday 18 March 2007, where she will lead the South African delegation to
the 6th session of the Nordic - African Informal Ministerial Consultations scheduled
from Monday - Tuesday, 19-20 March 2007.
Minister Dlamini Zuma will participate
in this session of the Nordic-Africa Informal Ministerial Consultations within
the context of South Africa's priority to promote the African developmental agenda
through among others strategic engagement with countries of the North.
It
is expected the participants from Africa will include representatives from: Benin,
Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, Zambia, Denmark,
Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, while the Nordic delegation will comprise
representatives from Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland.
Discussions
are expected to include, among others:
- Peace and security challenges
in Africa, including the role of the African Union, relations between the UN Security
Council and AU Peace and Security Council as well as conflict resolution and peacekeeping
efforts;
- Climate Change, including challenges highlighted in the recent
ICPP report, special concerns of African countries, the vulnerability of African
countries to the adverse effects of climate change, the adaptation to climate
change, the transfer of climate-friendly technologies, shared challenges and experiences
as well as the potential for joint initiatives; and
- United Nations issues
such as the Peace Building Commission, the Human Rights Council, the Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and reform issues including Security Council
reform, operations, administration, and the "High Level Panel on UN System-Wide
Coherence."
Since its launch in the year 2000 the Nordic-African
Consultations held meetings at least five times in Stockholm, Mozambique, Helsinki
and Benin. The Forum was initiated by the late Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh
with a view to discussing matters of mutual interest in an informal setting.
VISIT TO ALGERIA
Minister Dlamini Zuma will proceed from Oslo
for Algiers where she will provide political support to President Thabo Mbeki
during the AU Heads of State and Government Brainstorming session to review the
integration of NEPAD into the structures of the African Union, scheduled for Wednesday
21 March 2007..
Issued by Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853
Department
of Foreign Affairs
Private Bag X152
Pretoria
0001
18 March 2007
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