Media Statement
13 October 2017
Deputy Minister Landers to travel to Cuba for the SA-Cuba Joint Consultative Mechanism
The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Luwellyn Landers, will travel to Cuba to co-chair the 14th South Africa-Cuba Joint Consultative Mechanism on 17 and 18 October 2017. Deputy Minister Landers will also meet the Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Cooperation.
The JCM convenes annually, alternately in South Africa and Cuba. The JCM was established in 2001 to strengthen relations and further increase cooperation between the two countries. This meeting serves to affirm the importance of bilateral relations between South Africa and Cuba and emphasise a desire to build on existing cooperation at various levels.
Relations between South Africa and Cuba are characterized by high level political dialogues such as between Deputy President Ramaphosa and Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa who visited South Africa on two occasions during the past year. The most recent visit by Vice President Valdés Mesa was in February 2017 when he was hosted by Deputy President Ramaphosa for bilateral talks on 1 February 2017. In October 2015, Deputy President Ramaphosa paid an official visit to Cuba which signaled significant progress in trade & investment with Cuba.
There are over 30 signed bilateral agreements in place between the two countries covering vast areas of cooperation. The most active of these agreements are in the areas of health cooperation, human settlements technical exchange, public works technical assistance, cooperation on water resource management and water supply and most recently, the agreement on professional services in the field of basic education.
Enquiries: Mr Clayson Monyela, 0828845974
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION
OR Tambo Building
460 Soutpansberg Road
Rietondale
Pretoria
0084
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