Pretoria - South Africa and Cuba will today convene their 12th Joint Consultative Mechanism (JCM), a forum used to strengthen the existing political bilateral relations, particularly in the multilateral and regional spheres.
Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Luwellyn Landers will co-chair the two-day JCM with his Cuban counterpart Rogelio Sierra Diaz in Havana.
The JCM convenes annually and is co-chaired by the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa and the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba.
The two sides first established formal diplomatic relations in 1994. Cuba has become an established strategic partner for South Africa in the Latin America region.
Since then, South Africa has been a beneficiary of Cuba's ongoing assistance in the fields of health, labour, defence, social development, housing and infrastructure.
One of the success stories is the extensive cooperation between South Africa and Cuba in skills development training.
“Under the auspices of the South Africa Health Agreement, almost 3 000 South African students are currently receiving training in Cuba.
“In addition, the deployment of Cuban doctors, engineers and technical experts across South Africa is a further demonstration of strong bilateral relations between the two countries,” said the Department of International Relations and Cooperation. - SAnews.gov.za
