Statement by the MEC for Social Development, Mr Alvin Botes, on the occasion of the visit by the Heads of Mission to the Northern Cape Province Friday 15 July 2011, Kimberley

________________________________________

Together with the members of the Northern Cape Executive Council, we have just emerged from a very successful interactive engagement with our South African Heads of Mission, namely:
• His Excellency, the Ambassador to the Republic of Congo, Brazzaville: Dr Genge

• His Excellency, the Ambassador to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela: Mr BW Gila

• His Excellency, the Ambassador to the Ukraine: Mr A Venter

• Charge d'Affairs to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, His Excellency
Ambassador D Jacobs

• Consul-General of the Federative Republic of Brazil: Mr Y Omar

• Consul-General of the Democratic Republic of Congo: Mr Mditshwa

• Consul-General to the People's Republic of China: Mr Khumalo

I must hasten to add that this engagement with our emissaries was thought provoking and most insightful, more especially with regard to bilateral co-operation in the areas of trade, investment, economic development and so forth.
This all-important meeting has afforded us an opportunity to exchange views, share ideas, compare notes and, most importantly, strategize on issues that relate to economic growth and development with a specific focus on opportunities in the mining, agricultural and tourism sectors.

Our interaction, at this stage, was exploratory in nature with our Heads of Mission offering useful knowledge that we wish to pursue once clearer details have been made available.

Our primary aim, in addition to mutual economic benefits, is the eradication of poverty and in this regard much information was shared on how these developing countries were promoting social cohesion within the context of structured partnership.

As I mentioned earlier, the meeting was exploratory in nature and further details will be made available to the media once we have struck tangible agreements in the areas I have alluded to.