Zim/SA Joint Co-operation Commission meeting opens

permanent commission opened in Pretoria, South Africa yesterday with the two countries expressing optimism that bilateral relations between the two neighbouring states will grow stronger. South Africa is Zimbabwe’s biggest trading partner, with trade between the two countries standing at R19,2 billion in 2011, compared to R16,5 billion in 2010 and R14,8 billion in 2009.
Zimbabwe’s delegation, which arrived in Pretoria on Saturday, includes officials from various government ministries, Registrar General’s Office, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, Zimbabwe Newspapers, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, ambassadors from the two countries and their staff, among others.
Speaking at the official opening of the meeting of officials, Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Joey Bimha said commendable progress had been made in various areas since the last joint co-operation commission held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe in 2009.
Ambassador Bimha said this included facilitating the scrapping of visas for Zimbabweans travelling to South Africa, implementation of the cross border programmes to combat malaria and communicable diseases.
In the area of tourism, Zimbabwe and South Africa signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Tourism Co-operation, in May this year. The agreement facilitates the development of strategies for joint promotion of tourism and participation at each other’s tourism fairs.
The two countries have also signed agreements to facilitate the establishment of the Labour Migration Centre in Beitbridge.
The Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA), which was signed by the two countries in 2009, was expected to lead to the opening up of the much needed lines of credit to enable the recapitalisation of industrial entities in Zimbabwe.
“Such a move would go a long way towards assisting Zimbabwe in its programme to turn around the economy,” said Ambassador Bimha.
Other agreements include the Search and Rescue Agreement, which facilitates co-operation in the event of flight disasters and the ratification of the Limpopo River Basin Agreement.
Speaking at the same occasion, South Africa’s Deputy Director-General in the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, Ambassador Sonto Kudjoe, said economic co-operation between the two countries has continued to grow as evidenced by the high volumes of trade in goods and services.
“We also note that the Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security is meeting every year without fail.”
The three-day joint commission meetings will end tomorrow.
The joint co-operation commission meetings follow similar meetings concluded in Tehran, Iran early this month.