Panafrican News Agency (Dakar). March 20, 2001.
http://allafrica.com/
Cape Town, South Africa - Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
left South Africa Tuesday afternoon ahead of next week's state visit to Cuba by
President Thabo Mbeki.
Dlamini-Zuma was off to an early start given that she was flying first to
Geneva before heading for Havana.
Mbeki's visit, from March 27 to 30, is aimed at strengthening political and
trade ties between the two countries.
He and President Fidel Castro will exchange views on the coming World
Conference against Racism, the Millennium African Recovery Plan, and reform of
the UN and Bretton Woods institutions.
The latest interaction takes place against the background of excellent
bilateral relations, premised on the engagement between the Cuban Government and
the South African liberation movements during the anti-apartheid struggle.
Cuba played a pivotal role in the eventual defeat of apartheid in South
Africa by providing inter alia, substantial material assistance in the military,
human resource development, reconstruction and medical fields.
South Africa and Cuba have strong political and economic relations and they
cooperate in various multilateral fora, including the Non Alignment Movement and
the G77 and China. Opportunities for extended cooperation exist in the field of
mining and agriculture, which have shown significant growth over the past few
years.
In April 2000, Cuba hosted the Summit of the G77 and China, at which it
adopted positions that served to once again identify it as a potential partner
in the search for a just and sustainable world economic order, to benefit the
world's poor. Pundits see Dlamini-Zuma's visit as an added opportunity for
Pretoria and Havana to further cement relations and explore new areas of
sustained cooperation, particularly in the sphere of multilateral engagement.
In the field of health there is active co-operation between the two
countries.
More than 450 Cuban doctors are working in South Africa, and more than 200
South African students are studying medicine in Cuba. There are plans for both
these numbers to be increased. South Africa and Cuba have also concluded several
bilateral agreements.
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