Times of India,
January 31, 2001.
PRETORIA: South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma was due on
Tuesday to fly to Cuba for a six-day visit during which the two countries would
cement already strong ties, her spokesman said.
Ronnie Mamoepa said Dlamini Zuma would sign an agreement toward forming a
joint commission, to be established later in the year during a planned visit by
President Thabo Mbeki.
Dlamini Zuma was expected to hold talks with her Cuban counterpart Felipe
Perez Rogue and deliver a speech at the Diplomatic Institute of Cuba, he said.
The foreign ministry said South Africa enjoyed good relations with Cuba,
whose government had long supported South Africa's liberation movement against
apartheid. The ministry said the two governments were close partners in the
health sector and that there was scope for greater cooperation in the field and
in mining and agriculture.
More than 450 Cuban doctors currently work in South Africa, and more than
200 South Africans study medicine in Cuba. "There are plans for both these
numbers to be increased," the ministry said in a statement. (AFP) | 