Minister Dlamini Zuma to Attend Shield Placing Ceremony on Behalf of Former President Mandela, Denmark

Pretoria – South African Foreign Affairs Minister Dlamini Zuma will on Wednesday 5 November 2008 depart for Copenhagen, Denmark where she will attend the Shield Placing Ceremony of the Order of the Knight of the Elephant bestowed on President Nelson Mandela former President of South Africa, in the Knights Hall of the Frederiksborg Castle, Hillerød scheduled for later on Thursday.  The visit to Denmark is scheduled for Thursday – Sunday 6 – 9 November 2008.

While in Denmark, Minister Dlamini Zuma is also scheduled to meet with South African Ambassadors to Nordic countries on Thursday 7 November 2008 and to hold political discussions with the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller and with the Danish Minister of Development Co-operation Ulna Tourneas.

The Order of the Elephant, which was bestowed on President Nelson Rholihlahla Mandela former South African President in 1996, is the oldest and most distinguished order and dates back to the 15th century. The statutes of the Order were established by Christian V on 1 December 1693.

In earlier times the Order was mainly conferred on foreign princes and distinguished Danish noblemen but nowadays the Order is almost exclusively awarded to Heads of State and Members of the Royal Family. Since 9 April 1959, women have also been eligible for admission to the Order.

The Order of the Elephant was bestowed on President Mandela by Her Majesty, The Queen of Denmark on Sunday 18 February 1996 during the state visit by the Queen, the Prince Consort and the Crown Prince of Denmark to South Africa.

Bilateral Relations
South Africa and Denmark enjoy good bilateral relations and Denmark was a strong supporter of the anti-apartheid struggle and a major force for sanctions and disinvestment in South Africa.

Denmark has also had a very active development cooperation programme with South Africa from the 1960s which was transformed to official assistance from 1995.  In the current programme 2004-2006 over R480 million is being disbursed in projects ranging from water, energy, education, governance, the South African Police Service (SAPS), support to business and HIV and Aids.

Danish policy towards Africa emphasises assistance to support African development by supporting NEPAD and sees South Africa’s role as central.

Also the signing on 9 June 2008 of the Declaration of Intent on Partnerships in Africa with the five Nordic countries put in place an overall framework for cooperation between the other Nordic countries and South Africa with other African countries or regional organisations.

South African exports to Denmark increased from over R 450 million in 2000 to over R 1.38 billion in 2007 while imports from Denmark increased from over R860 million to nearly R 2 billion during the same period.

Issued by Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853

Issued by Department of Foreign Affairs
Private Bag X152
Tshwane
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5 November 2008