The South African government has promised to send its delegation to Brussels for diplomatic discussions with the European Union regarding the oil sanction against Iran.
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This promise was made by the South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms. Maite Nkoana-Mashabane during the Joint Press Conference following a recent meeting with European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms Catherine Ashton.
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In her remarks, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms. Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said: “Regarding the issue of oil sanctions against Iran, we have agreed to send a South African interdepartmental delegation to Brussels to discuss the impact of the application of EU sanctions on Iran on South Africa and the rest of the Southern African region”
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Speaking on Syria, the Minister said, both South Africa and the European Union have agreed that current developments in Syria are serious and that the situation needs to be addressed by the international community despite the differences of approach by members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
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Concerning Madagascar, she said her country and the EU agreed on the need for the implementation of the SADC roadmap, stressing that both parties welcomed the adoption of the report of the SADC Facilitator on Zimbabwe and as well urged the stakeholders to work together, in particular on the constitution making process.
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According to her, “On Sudan, we agreed that the recommendations of the Roadmap of the AU Peace and Security Council on solving the outstanding issues between Sudan and South Sudan as well as the subsequent UN Security Council Resolution 2046 (2012) need to be implemented by the parties and we remain concerned at the humanitarian situation in the region”
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“With regard to Somalia, we remain vested in supporting the strengthening of the Somali Federal Government and the fight against piracy”
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“We discussed the state of play of the EU-SADC EPA negotiations, and reaffirmed the importance of reaching an agreement that is mutually beneficial, enhances growth and generates jobs. We reiterated our strong commitment to concluding the negotiations as a matter of priority.
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We are convinced that solutions to the pending issues of the EPA can be found. To this end, we urged our negotiators to expedite their work”
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Ms. Maite Nkoana-Mashabane further said that the recent consolidation of the South Africa-EU Peace and Security Committee, the revival of the Crime and Justice Dialogue and the Police Cooperation initiative, the establishment of the human rights dialogue and informal interaction on disarmament diplomacy further indicates the extent to which South Africa and the EU have been working together.
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“For our part as South Africa we would like to intensify such activities to ensure that the strategic partnership becomes meaningful to ordinary citizens of our regions” she noted.
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She concluded that the EU remains an important and strategic partner for South Africa and continues to contribute to the country's development agenda, as well as in SADC and Africa as a whole.