Presidency on President Robert Mugabe's state visit to South Africa
8 Apr 2015
President Robert Mugabe of the Republic of Zimbabwe begins his second state visit to South Africa today, on 8 April 2015, at the invitation of President Jacob Zuma, which is aimed at further strengthening relations and cooperation between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The first state visit to South Africa by President Mugabe took place in August 1994. Former President Nelson Mandela undertook a state visit to Zimbabwe in May 1997. Since then, President Zuma and President Mugabe have undertaken working visits to each other's countries several times in the past few years as has previous presidents of the Republic of South Africa.
South Africa and Zimbabwe share strong historical relations and the bilateral relations between the two countries were normalised in 1994 following the dawn of freedom. Within the framework of the then Front Line States, Zimbabwe played an important historical role in the struggle against apartheid.
Structured bilateral cooperation between South Africa and Zimbabwe takes place through the Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) which was established in 1995, co-chaired by the Ministers of International Relations and Cooperation and Foreign Affairs. The objective of the Commission is to promote political, economic and social cooperation between the two countries. The last Session of the South Africa/Zimbabwe Joint Commission for Cooperation was held in Pretoria in 2012.
Furthermore, the two countries have cemented relations through, the South Africa/ Zimbabwe Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security (JPCDS) which was established in 2005 in terms of an Agreement between South Africa and Zimbabwe on Defence that was concluded in 1996. The Commission discusses and promotes cooperation regarding bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest in the fields of defence, state and public security including the prevention of cross border crime.
The two countries have since 1994 signed over twenty Memoranda of Understanding and Agreements and this has necessitated regular interaction between various South African Government Departments and their Zimbabwean counterparts.
South Africa and Zimbabwe not only share strong historical relations but also strong economic cooperation to the extent that the economies of the two countries are historically and inextricably linked. Due to its geographical proximity to South Africa, Zimbabwe's political and economic situation has a direct impact on South Africa.
Historically, Zimbabwe is always among the top three South Africa's trading partners on the continent. South Africa is one of the top investors in the Zimbabwean economy.
In 2014 South African exports to Zimbabwe amounted to approximately R24, 8 billion while imports from Zimbabwe amounted to approximately R2 billion in the same year.
There is a large presence of South African companies in Zimbabwe such as Nedbank, Impala Platinum, Standard Bank, Old Mutual and Tongaat-Hullet amongst many others.
The visit is designed to deepen the bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries and thuus includes economic cooperation. The South Africa-Zimbabwe Business Forum will meet on Thursday 9 October. Opportunities for deeper economic cooperation exist in the fields of mining, water, energy, infrastructure development, transport, ICT among others.
President Mugabe is also the Chairperson of the African Union and Southern African Development Community (SADC). In this regard, the two leaders will discuss regional and international issues of mutual concern, including establishing an environment of peace and stability in order to achieve regional integration, industrialisation and economic development as well as the wellbeing of the SADC region.
Statement issued by Mac Maharaj, The Presidency, April 8 2015
President Jacob Zuma with President Robert Mugabe #SAZIMvisit pic.twitter.com/BMQDqUuoQN
— GCIS Media Liaison (@GCISMedia) April 8, 2015
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