Egyptian, S. African FMs Discuss Ways of Advancing Bilateral, Continental Co-op

On Wednesday, Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry, and South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor signed a joint communique after the ninth round of the joint committee between the two countries was held in the Egyptian capital, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministers have agreed to hold the joint committee between Egypt and South Africa once every two years alternately in the two countries, as well as mid-term reviews at the level of senior officials.

The eighth joint committee between Egypt and South Africa was held in March 2010 in Pretoria, while the first round of the committee was held in April 1996 in Cairo.

During Wednesday’s meeting of the committee, the delegations of the two countries, headed by Shoukry and Pandor, launched a comprehensive dialogue to exchange visions on a wide range of topics of bilateral relations.

The delegations also discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern, the statement said.

During the meeting, Shoukry and Pandor said their governments are determined to establish an Egyptian-South African business council and remove non-tariff barriers undermining trade between the two countries.

The council will aim at encouraging the business communities in the two countries to make use of the multiple opportunities for trade and investment in each country, the ministers noted.

They also urged activating cooperation between the authorities concerned with investments and commerce chambers in Egypt and South Africa to encourage and facilitate the participation of the private sector in the two countries' economies.

The ministers discussed practical approaches to boosting the volume of intra-regional trade and the flow of investments between the two countries, the statement said, adding that the current volume of trade and investment between the two countries does not reflect the level of huge capabilities they possess in this regard.

The ministers agreed on taking further steps to achieve economic integration in the continent, including by boosting cooperation among existing sub-regional economic groupings.

The ministers also agreed on expanding cooperation in various other fields, including defense, security, law enforcement, energy, mining, petrochemicals, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, communications and information technology, science and research, and agriculture.

The two ministers affirmed the need to work together to ensure that the voice of Africa is heard in a suitable manner during COP27.

They agreed on cooperating to make sure that urgent and tangible measures are taken to face climate change globally in a way that achieves the interests of the peoples of the continent and the world.