Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan has arrived in South Africa for talks with the country's officials focusing on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said on Sunday.
Tang arrived in South Africa on Saturday for a four-day visit during which he would have meetings with his South African counterpart Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and President Thabo Mbeki, according to Pahad.
Pahad said in Pretoria that South Africa wanted to see how the China-Africa cooperation program could become part of the NEPAD. "We hope to see how we can synchronize them," he said.
"We don' t believe too many initiatives are good." Pahad said another issue for discussion was regional representation on the United Nations' Security Council, on which China has a seat. Africa has asked for two seats. "We have not made much progress. We want to discuss it with them to see if we can break the impasse."
The World Summit on Sustainable Development, which is to start in Johannesburg in August, would also be on the agenda, according to Pahad. It was important to coordinate with China and the G77, so a united vision could be found to serve the interests of the developing countries, he said. During Mbeki's visit to China last year, South Africa was designated as a preferred country for tourists from there.
"Now we will discuss how to operationalize that," Pahad said. The possibility of a free trade agreement with China was also on the table, he said. Other issues expected to be broached include the India-Pakistan situation, the Middle East, the fight against terrorism following the September 11 attacks, and the situations in the Great Lakes region, Angola and Zimbabwe.
"We will discuss how we can cooperate better throughout the world," Pahad said.
( January 14, 2002)
