Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila Kabange have directed ministers responsible for international relations to prioritise preparations for their next meeting.
The meeting is to be held under the umbrella auspices of the South Africa-DRC Binational Commission and it is expected to take stock of the work done thus far in enhancing the various areas of cooperation.
The two leaders met while both attending the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese Peoples' War of Resistance in Beijing, China.
“The two leaders reaffirmed the cordial relations that exist between the two countries and pledged to work further together to deepen the existing cooperation between South Africa and the DRC,” said the Presidency on Thursday.
The two countries are working together to implement the Grand Inga Treaty following the ratification of the treaty by the two countries.
The Grand Inga Project is a multi-phase hydro power station to be built on the Congo River on the Inga site, with the potential to generate approximately 40 000MW.
The Inga dams are located in the western DRC, 50km upstream of the mouth of the Congo River and about 225km south west of Kinshasa.
The treaty provides the framework for the facilitation of power generation from the Grand Inga project and its delivery to the border between the DRC and Zambia.
A major component of relations between South Africa and the DRC is also linked to the regional and international search for peace and stability in the eastern DRC and the Great Lakes Region.
The two countries also have a several cooperation agreements in various socio-economic and governance fields. - SAnews.gov.za
