Media Statement
13 September 2023
Deputy Minister Botes to host Argentine Secretary of Foreign Affairs for Political Consultations
The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Alvin Botes, will on Thursday, 14 September 2023, host the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Argentine Republic, Ambassador Pablo Anselmo Tettamanti, for Political Consultations.
The objectives of the meeting are to review bilateral relations between the two countries, exchange views and to facilitate cooperation on regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.
The year 2023 marks the 32nd anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between South Africa and Argentina.
Diplomatic ties between the two countries that had existed since September 1947 were severed in May 1986 by the first democratically elected President of Argentina, Mr Raúl Alfonsín, who also spoke up and instituted punitive trade and other sanctions against the apartheid government in South Africa.
Since 1994, bilateral relations between the two countries have strengthened and cover a wide range of areas of cooperation under the umbrella of the Bi-National Commission that was established in September 2005.
Argentina is South Africa’s second-largest trading partner in Latin America and the Caribbean region. Trade between the two countries is also conducted under the framework of the SACU-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement.
At the multilateral level, the two countries share a commitment to the values of democracy, south-south cooperation, respect for human rights, the rule of international law, peaceful resolution of conflicts and multilateralism. This is evident in the two countries’ close cooperation at the G20, United Nations and UN Human Rights Council.
Following the recent BRICS Summit decision to invite Argentina to join BRICS, cooperation will extend to the BRICS with effect from January 2024.
Enquiries: Mr Clayson Monyela, Spokesperson for DIRCO, 082 884 5974
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION
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