Pretoria - South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo have declared the first decade of their Bi-National Commission a “resounding success”.
This emerged during the 9th ministerial session of Bi-National Commission co-chaired by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and her Congolese counterpart Raymond Tshibanda N'Tungamulongo, in Kinshasa, on Thursday.
The ministerial meeting comes ahead of the annual Bi-National Commission at the level of Heads of State expected to be co-chaired by President Jacob Zuma and President Joseph Kabila Kabange on Friday.
Looking at the two countries’ relations, Minister Nkoana-Mashabane said since 2004 the two nations have seen commendable progress in three areas of cooperation.
These include defence and security cooperation where there is a noticeable progress as demonstrated by the number of trained battalions as well as the ongoing police training.
South Africa has played a role in bringing an end to the war by being directly involved in a number of mediation talks.
It also hosted mediation talks in Sun City and Pretoria that resulted in the signing of the Pretoria Peace Agreement (Global and All Inclusive Peace Accord) in 2002. This in turn paved the way for the DRC’s first democratic elections in 2006.
During these first elections, South Africa rendered significant financial and logistical support enabling the DRC to host credible elections.
The second area of cooperation which has seen progress is institutional capacity building.
“Demonstrable progress was shown by the completion of the public servants census in all but one province. Part of the achievements in this area includes the training of diplomats and senior civil servants and establishment of the National School for Public Administration to train DRC’s public servants,” said Minister Nkoana-Mashabane.
The third area of cooperation which has seen progress was economic cooperation, such as the identification and implementation of Bas Congo Corridor which provides Kinshasa with a crucial link to the coast and highlights trade and investment opportunities in the DRC.
“One important evidence of progress is the existence of 35 agreements and memoranda of understanding. The number of these legal instruments shows the scope and the depth of our sectoral cooperation.
“The signing of the treaty on the development of the Grand Inga Hydropower Project by our two governments in October 2013 was a seminal milestone in our cooperation,” said the Minister.
Despite recoding positives in their bilateral relations, Minister Nkoana Mashabane said more needs to be done especially in the economic cooperation fields.
“The question that should occupy our minds is what should constitute the content of the second decade of the BNC. It is evident though that one key major matter that should occupy us moving forward is the identification and implementation of economic projects.
“Key in this regard will be the implementation of the Grand Inga Hydro Power Project and many other projects in agriculture, infrastructure; corridor development,” she said.
The Minister added that the two countries will continue to cooperate in defence and security as well as in all other sectors such as institutional cooperation and cooperation in health and education, among other sectors. –SAnews.gov.za
