Pretoria - International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Luwellyn Landers has concluded his working visit to Central America where he strengthened bilateral relations.
The visit, which ended on Tuesday, saw Deputy Minister Landers visiting El Salvador from 30 March to 01 April and the Honduras from 02 to 04 April, Dirco said on Friday.
In El Salvador, the Deputy Minister met with his counterpart Carlos Castaneda where they emphasized the need for continuous strengthening of bilateral relations in various fields and to focus on new investment opportunities.
“At the conclusion of the meeting, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Political Consultations.”
Deputy Minister Landers also paid a courtesy call on President Salvador Sanchez Ceren who “reaffirmed El Salvador's commitment to building stronger relations with South Africa as the two countries share a similar history”.
Deputy Minister Landers then proceeded to Honduras were he meet with his counterpart Ambassador Maria del Carmen Selman Nasser.
The two emphasised the importance of strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries as well as working together in multilateral forums.
“Deputy Minister Landers and the Under Secretary of State, Ambassador Selman Nasser Selman, agreed on taking the bilateral relations to the next level by creating instruments that will govern it. The two countries agreed to work together to expand trade as there were opportunities for such expansion,” Dirco explained.
In Honduras, which is home to a large part of the African Diaspora, Deputy Minister Landers also met with the Afro-Descendant Diaspora Community (ODECO) and the National Garifuna Ballet of Honduras.
During the meeting, the Deputy Minister confirmed South Africa's commitment to continue working with the African Diaspora in order to preserve the historic ties of the African continent and its diaspora. - SAnews.gov.za
