Pretoria - Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe, is to undertake a two-day working visit to Tunisia to continue with the high level interactions between the two countries and to explore possible areas of cooperation, the Presidency said on Sunday.
The visit takes place within the context of North-South cooperation and the consolidation of the African agenda.
Motlanthe will be accompanied by cabinet ministers and other senior government officials.
"South Africa enjoys a friendly and mutually beneficial relationship with the Tunisian Government. Co-operation in the fields of health, social development, defence, science and technology, culture and sport has strengthened significantly over the few years," it said.
Bilateral relations on trade, information and communications technology, energy and agriculture are presently receiving attention. The first Joint Bilateral Commission (JBC) in 1996 launched formal relations between South Africa and Tunisia.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, more than 20 bilateral agreements have been signed between the two countries focusing on various areas of co-operation. The 6th Session of the JBC is expected to be held in South Africa this year.
More than 80 doctors from Tunisia are working in rural hospitals in eight provinces in South Africa while Tunisian ophthalmologists performed more than 1300 cataract removal procedures in rural areas in this country since 1997.
Tunisia offers training to South African defence force trainers on warfare in desert conditions to assist South Africa with its peace-keeping operations on the continent.
