Pretoria - International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has called for the fast tracking of the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement between South Africa and the Republic of Congo.
The agreement, which was mooted after South Africa's trade mission to Brazzaville in May 2010, would involve mutual business opportunities in fields including trade, tourism, transport, energy and agriculture, among others.
The minister was speaking at the official launch of the first South Africa-Republic of Congo Joint Commission for Co-operation (JCC) in Cape Town.
During the session, a Co-operation Agreement on Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry will be signed. The agreement hopes to address food shortages in the Congo and promote bilateral trade.
Nkoana-Mashabane said although months of preparatory meetings have taken place between the two countries, not enough progress was made in implementation.
"We must prove to our peoples that our cooperation can bring about a tangible improvement in their daily lives... Such projects should be the nucleus and catalyst of greater joint undertakings in the future," she said.
A twining agreement between South Africa's Steve Biko Academic Hospital and the University Hospital of the Republic of Congo was signed. This agreement opens room for working together in many areas of healthcare.
The minister thanked Congo for its support when SA was in the running for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council. She also congratulated Congo for successfully hosting 50th Independence celebrations.
Diplomatic relations between South Africa and Congo date from 1993, with cooperation between the two countries formalised by the signing of the umbrella General Cooperation Agreement in 2003.
Representing Congo at the inaugural JCC were Basil Ekouebe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and Rigobert Maboundou, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock f the Republic of Congo.
