Pretoria – Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe, will lead a South African delegation to the 2nd Africa-India Forum Summit (AIFS-II).
The summit, scheduled to take place on 20-25 May 2011, will be held at the African Union’s headquarter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The first Africa-India Summit, held in India, New Delhi in 2008, initiated progressive levels of cooperation mainly in areas of capacity building, supporting the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, and opening markets for trade – as documented in 2008 Summit’s Framework of Cooperation, Summit Declaration, and its implementation Plan of Action said the Department of International Relations and Cooperation on Saturday.
“The second Summit’s main objective is to evaluate the progress of this partnership to date, further deepen relations, and reaffirm the commitment to promoting cooperation in priority areas.
“The Republic of South Africa values the both bilateral and multilateral relations to strengthen the achievement of materialising a world that is just, equitable and free,” it said.
The Africa-India partnership will be a platform that will facilitate a constructive change to the harsh realities afflicting the African continent, it added.
“In this light, South Africa welcomes the strategic role India is playing in supporting regional integration, capacity building in economic cooperation, and infrastructure development,” said the department.
Motlanthe will be accompanied by International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Ebrahim I. Ebrahim and other senior government officials. –BuaNews
