Deputy Minister Pahad to attend the Inter-State Politics and Diplomacy Committee in Luanda, Angola

Pretoria – South African Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad will today Sunday 22 June 2008 depart for Luanda, Angola, to attend the Inter-State Politics and Diplomacy Committee (ISPDC) session which is scheduled for today and tomorrow.

The general objective of the ISPDC is to promote peace and security in the region.  Its specific objectives are: safeguarding the development of the region; promoting political cooperation among states and the evolution of common political values and institutions; preventing and resolving inter and intra-state conflict by peaceful means; developing common foreign policy approaches on issues of mutual concern; promoting the development of democratic institutions and practises within the territories of State parties; and to develop peacekeeping capacity of national defence forces and co-ordinate the participation of State parties in international and regional peacekeeping operations.

In this regard, issues on the agenda of this session of the ISPDC include:

• The Progress Report on the Hashim Mbita Project;
• The Political and security situation in the region;
• The Consolidation of Democracy in the region: the creation of the SADC Electoral Advisory Council (SEAC);
• Elections in the region;
• Disaster management;
• Implementation of the UNIVISA;
• Progress on the staffing of the Directorate of Politics, Defence and Security Affairs, and
• Budget for the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Affairs.

The SADC region is among the regions in the world that are relatively stable and peaceful.  This session of the ISPDC will therefore feed into the various SADC efforts that seek to entrench the consolidation of democracy within the region.

Issued by Department of Foreign Affairs
Private Bag X152
Pretoria
0001

22 June 2008