Pretoria - South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs are currently meeting for their 9th ministerial session of the Bi-National Commission (BNC).
The meeting underway in Kinshasa is co-chaired by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and her Congolese counterpart Raymond Tshibanda N'Tungamulongo.
The ministerial meeting is taking place ahead of the annual Bi-National Commission at Heads of State level to be co-chaired tomorrow by President Jacob Zuma and President Joseph Kabila Kabange.
“The Ministers will review progress made with the implementation of bilateral projects covering various fields, including security sector reform, infrastructure development, capacity and institutional building, humanitarian and social matters,” the department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement.
The BNC provides the basis for political, economic and technical cooperation and includes commissions on politics and governance, defence and security, economics, finance and infrastructure, and humanitarian and social affairs.
The main feature of this year's 9th session of the BNC is that it marks the 10th anniversary of structured bilateral relations between South Africa and the DRC.
The two countries cooperate in several projects covering various fields, including security sector reform, infrastructure development, capacity and institutional building, humanitarian and social matters.
South Africa is the DRC’s biggest supplier of foreign goods and services providing more than 20% of the country’s total imports.
Bilateral trade increased from R11 billion in 2012 to R13 billion in 2014. – SAnews.gov.za
