President Thabo Mbeki concludes Visit to Japan by attending SADC Meeting on Zimbabwe

Yokohama - South African President Thabo Mbeki today, Thursday 29 May concluded his visit to Yokohama where he led a senior South African Government delegation to the 4th Session of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) currently underway in Japan by attending a SADC meeting to discuss the situation in Zimbabwe.

“The SADC meeting was to get an update on the situation in Zimbabwe, but most specifically to check on practical measures that need to be taken. In particular we confirmed a decision that had been taken earlier that the SADC Observers must go back to Zimbabwe quickly in preparation for the run-off election on the 27 June and that we will increase the numbers of those observers so that they can cover all parts of Zimbabwe and that they need to go in as early as is possible,” said President Mbeki

“Of course all of the countries that attended, committed themselves to that, which means also providing the resources for those observers to be able to go to Zimbabwe and operate,” concluded President Mbeki

With the departure of President Mbeki back to South Africa, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma assumed the reigns of leadership of the South African Government delegation to the Conference on African Development including Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk, South Africa’s Ambassador to Japan Dr. Ben Ngubane and Foreign Affairs Deputy Director-General Ambassador Jerry Matjila.

President Mbeki had led the South African Government delegation to the 4th Session of TICAD within the context of advancing South Africa’s national interest whilst promoting the consolidation of the African Agenda.

President Mbeki addressed the Conference on Boosting Economic Growth which is one of the four sub-themes of the Conference. During his visit to Japan, President Mbeki held a number of bilateral discussions including with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, President Omar Elbashir of Sudan, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Director-General of the International Organisation for Migration. In this context, Minister Dlamini Zuma will on Friday 30 May hold further bilateral discussions with the Japanese, Zimbabwean and Comoros Foreign Ministers.

Issued by Ronnie Mamoepa at 082-990-4853

SA Embassy Japan
Department of foreign Affairs

29 May 2008