Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has arrived in the capital of the DRC, Brazzaville, where he will take part in the first meeting of the International Contact Group that is expected to discuss the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR).
President Zuma, who landed in Brazzaville on Thursday, is being accompanied by a delegation that includes the Ministers of State Security Dr Siyabonga Cwele and International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.
The meeting, scheduled for Friday, is convened by the President of the Republic of Congo, Dennis Sasou-N'guesso, and is expected to discuss appropriate decisions and means necessary to bring CAR to constitutional normalcy.
The meeting follows the decision of the recent Extraordinary Summit of the Economic Community of Central African States, held in N'Djamena, Chad, which resolved to establish a committee of states to work on various aspects of the Liberville Agreement.
Meanwhile, the South African government on Thursday said it accepted an apology from the CAR after 13 South African soldiers were killed during clashes with the Seleka rebel alliance.
South Africa and CAR signed a military cooperation agreement in 2007, which was renewed for a further five years in December 2012.
The agreement was to provide CAR’s army with an array of military training, from infantry, artillery and Special Forces training to logistics and driving courses, as well as the refurbishment of military infrastructure in Bouar and Bangui. – SAnews.gov.za
