12-09-2013, 09:58 AM
Pretoria - International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister, Marius Fransman, is in Bogota, the Republic Colombia, for the final leg of his four- nation visit to Latin America and the Caribbean.
This after concluding his two-day working visit to Cuba which was aimed at consolidating political, bilateral and multilateral relations and exploring avenues for closer cooperation.
While in Cuba, Fransman co-chaired the 10th South Africa-Cuba Joint Consultative Mechanism (JCM) -- established in 2001 to coordinate cooperation between the two countries -- with his counterpart Marcelino Medina.
During the JCM, both sides reaffirmed the solid bilateral relations and historical ties between the two countries.
Fransman, according to Dirco, expressed gratitude for Cuba's ongoing support for government’s main priorities through the implementation of joint programmes in health, labour, social development, housing and infrastructure.
He cited the deployment of Cuban doctors, engineers and technical experts in all the provinces of South Africa as a demonstration of Cuba's commitment.
“The Deputy Minister noted the training of over 1400 South African medical students on Cuban scholarships. The students went through an intensive Spanish language course and 99.7 percent passed their language exams. A further number of students will arrive in September 2013 to start their academic training. The number of South African students will grow to well over 2000,†said Dirco in a statement.
For his part, Medina thanked the South African government for consistently raising its voice in all major forums to demand the lifting of the economic embargo against Cuba and for the unconditional release of the remaining four of the Cuban Five.
With regard to multilateral issues, both sides reaffirmed commitment to advancing the agenda of the South in bodies such as the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.
While on regional matters, both sides discussed the feasibility of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to engage with the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) bloc.
Both Latin America and Africa are regarded as hubs of economic development and growth and therefore, cooperation with BRICS would be mutually beneficial.
As part of his visit, Fransman delivered a public lecture at the Raul Roa Higher Institute of International Relations in Havana on "Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity/African Union - strengthening of relations between Africa and her Diaspora."
There Fransman stressed the integral role played by Cuba in the international solidarity and Pan-Africanist movement.
The Deputy Minister has visited Peru, Ecuador, Cuba and now Colombia to enhance bilateral political, economic, social and cultural relations. – SAnews.gov.za
This after concluding his two-day working visit to Cuba which was aimed at consolidating political, bilateral and multilateral relations and exploring avenues for closer cooperation.
While in Cuba, Fransman co-chaired the 10th South Africa-Cuba Joint Consultative Mechanism (JCM) -- established in 2001 to coordinate cooperation between the two countries -- with his counterpart Marcelino Medina.
During the JCM, both sides reaffirmed the solid bilateral relations and historical ties between the two countries.
Fransman, according to Dirco, expressed gratitude for Cuba's ongoing support for government’s main priorities through the implementation of joint programmes in health, labour, social development, housing and infrastructure.
He cited the deployment of Cuban doctors, engineers and technical experts in all the provinces of South Africa as a demonstration of Cuba's commitment.
“The Deputy Minister noted the training of over 1400 South African medical students on Cuban scholarships. The students went through an intensive Spanish language course and 99.7 percent passed their language exams. A further number of students will arrive in September 2013 to start their academic training. The number of South African students will grow to well over 2000,†said Dirco in a statement.
For his part, Medina thanked the South African government for consistently raising its voice in all major forums to demand the lifting of the economic embargo against Cuba and for the unconditional release of the remaining four of the Cuban Five.
With regard to multilateral issues, both sides reaffirmed commitment to advancing the agenda of the South in bodies such as the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.
While on regional matters, both sides discussed the feasibility of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to engage with the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) bloc.
Both Latin America and Africa are regarded as hubs of economic development and growth and therefore, cooperation with BRICS would be mutually beneficial.
As part of his visit, Fransman delivered a public lecture at the Raul Roa Higher Institute of International Relations in Havana on "Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity/African Union - strengthening of relations between Africa and her Diaspora."
There Fransman stressed the integral role played by Cuba in the international solidarity and Pan-Africanist movement.
The Deputy Minister has visited Peru, Ecuador, Cuba and now Colombia to enhance bilateral political, economic, social and cultural relations. – SAnews.gov.za