SA, Qatar to advance South-South relations

Article published courtesy of BuaNews - [5 May 2008]

South Africa and Qatar are to advance South-South co-operation by consolidating bilateral political, economic and trade relations.

President Thabo Mbeki, accompanied by the First Lady Zanele Mbeki, will on Monday, 5 May, depart for Doha, Qatar, for a two-day state visit.

President Mbeki with his high powered government and business delegation will visit Qatar within the context of South Africa's priority to strengthen relations between both countries, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

On Tuesday, His Highness Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, will hold bilateral discussions with President Mbeki.

The discussions are expected to include Qatar's support for the South African government's Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) and the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (AsgiSA) programmes which aim to halve unemployment and poverty by 2014.

On Wednesday, Mbeki is expected to participate in a South Africa - Qatar Business Seminar.

Qatar is strategically of great importance to South Africa as it contains oil reserves of 15.21 billion barrels, while its natural gas reserves exceed 25 trillion cubic meters.

Partnership between the two countries has seen the establishment of $900 million Oryx Gas-to-Liquid plant is a joint venture between SASOL and Qatar Petroleum.

It is one of the largest joint venture projects involving a South African company in the Middle East.

The project has enhanced South Africa's stature as world-leader in the field and a reliable technology partner.

Priority investment

In addition investment from Qatar has totalled $400 million into South Africa and Africa in the PME Infrastructure Management Limited Fund.

The fund is investing in infrastructure in Africa and is concentrating on the areas of transportation, communication and energy.

According to the Government of Qatar, the fund gives priority to investments in South Africa, as it is the most suitable country to invest in compared to other African countries.

The fund is considered to be the first investment by the Qatar Investment Authority in South Africa.

The South African delegation is expected to include Ministers Mosiuoa Lekota, Mandisi Mpahlwa, Buyelwa Sonjica, Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad and South Africa's Ambassador to Qatar Vincent Zulu.

The government delegation will be accompanied by senior business representatives from Ukubona Holdings, the Industrial Development Co-operation, Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal, National African Federated Chambers of Commerce, Sekunjalo Investment, the National Empowerment Fund, Bravura Empowerment, Coega Industrial Development Zone, Tristar Holdings, UNIGAS, PetroSA and Standard Bank, among others.

President Mbeki is expected to return to South Africa on Thursday.