Russia, South Africa to strengthen economic cooperation

The second session of the Russian-South African intergovernmental committee on trade and economic cooperation will be held in the middle of November in South Africa, said Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov at a press conference after the meeting with his South African counterpart Nkosazanna Dlamini-Zuma.

The Russian delegation will be headed by deputy prime minister Valentina Matvienko, he said. Other contacts between the countries' different departments are expected in the near future, the minister added. In particular, he intends to meet Dlamini-Zuma again in September, on the sideline of the UN General Assembly session in New York.

At the talks, the parties agreed that the relations between the two countries were developing dynamically and positively, and an intense political dialog had started, Ivanov pointed out. Now they should pay more attention to trade and economic cooperation, he believes. Besides, there are possibilities for expanding military, technical, scientific, cultural and other forms of cooperation between Russia and South Africa, he said.

"All these spheres have favourable conditions for our countries' cooperation, and we should use them in the interests of Russia and South Africa," the Russian minister stressed.