Pretoria - While government will continue to discuss the terror alert issued by the United States of America embassy in Pretoria with the US government, relations between the two countries remain cordial, Cabinet said on Thursday.
Addressing media following Cabinet’s fortnightly meeting, Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Jeff Radebe, reiterated the Presidency’s statement that the Security Cluster met yesterday to discuss the matter further.
The meeting - held on Wednesday - was held with the view to ensure the continued safety of all people in the country.
“I reiterate the statement that was issued by the Presidency yesterday and this statement from the Cabinet briefing yesterday, relations between the United States and South Africa are cordial in all spheres, that is the official government position,” he said in response to a question.
In addition, the Minister added that the Security Cluster of Ministers will from time to time appraise the South African public on the state of the country’s readiness on any matters that relates to the safety of South Africans or anybody who resides within the borders of the country.
On Saturday, the United States issued an alert to say that it had received information that terrorists were planning attacks on shopping malls in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Britain and Australia have since upgraded their travel advisories.
At Thursday’s media briefing, Minister Radebe said that government will continue to discuss the matter with the US government as part of ongoing cooperation on security issues between the two countries.
“South Africa and the US continue to enjoy strong and cordial relations in various areas of cooperation including political, economic, and social and security matters,” said Cabinet. – SAnews.gov.za
