S. Africa wants to strengthen relationship with RI

S. Africa wants to strengthen relationship with RI

Veeramalla Anjaiah
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

South Africa's relations with Indonesia can be described as
sound and excellent since both countries established diplomatic
ties in 1994. Pretoria wants to strengthen these ties further to
forge a new strategic partnership with Jakarta, says South
Africa's Ambassador to Indonesia Giffiths Mandlenkosi Memela.

"Even long before our independence, relations between the
African National Congress and Indonesia were strong. During our
struggle against the apartheid regime, Indonesia played a key
role in imposing UN sanctions against the South African
government," Memela, who presented his credentials to President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on March 16, told The Jakarta Post in an
interview recently.

Last year, South Africa's Foreign Minister Nkosozana Dlamini
Zuma visited Indonesia. During her visit, which helped rekindle
the cordiality, cooperation and interaction between the two
countries, Dlamini Zuma signed an important agreement to
establish a joint commission on bilateral cooperation.

This new agreement is aimed at increasing bilateral trade and
investment.

Despite the fact that South Africa and Indonesia, which are
not only regional powers but also potential economic powerhouses
of the African and Asian continents, maintain "excellent"
relations at the political level, their economic ties do not live
up to the potential of the countries.

For example, the value of bilateral trade was just US$488.57
million in 2004. Though it saw an impressive increase of 24.85
percent from $391.31 million in 2003, the trade was still small
given Indonesia's 220 million people and a GDP of $760 billion.
South Africa's population is 43 million with a GDP of $460
billion.

For many years, bilateral trade has been in favor of
Indonesia.

South Africa mainly imports vegetable products, fats and oils,
plastic and rubber, timber, pulp and paper, footwear, stone and
plaster from Indonesia, and exports food items, rayon pulp and
paper to the world's largest Muslim nation.

"That's why we want to pool our countries' resources to
generate more capital and investment to boost economic
cooperation. We can form joint ventures and invest in each other
and in third countries," Memela said.

South Africa intends to improve its ties with Indonesia in the
social and cultural spheres, as well as in people-to-people
contacts.

"We would like to increase people-to-people contacts like
cultural and academic exchanges. We want to enhance the awareness
among Indonesian youths about South Africa and other African
countries," Memela, a law school graduate who worked as South
Africa's high commissioner from 1996 to 2000, said.

South Africa wants to form a strategic partnership with
Indonesia.

"My main mission in Indonesia is to further strengthen the
already existing sound relationship and foster a strategic
partnership. Then we have to concentrate on improving economic
contacts among the businesspeople from both the countries and
also people-to-people cooperation," the 57-year-old diplomat
said.

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa has
concentrated on things like providing basic needs, building
infrastructure, establishing democratic institutions and
diplomatic relations with other countries.

"Now South Africa's priority is to deepen our ties with some
selected important countries. Indonesia is one of them," Dlamini
Zuma said during her visit to Jakarta.

That is why South African President Thabo Mbeki will be coming
to Indonesia next week on a bilateral visit to give new life to
existing relations between South Africa and Indonesia.

President Mbeki will attend the Asian-African Summit, which
will be held in Jakarta from April 22 to April 23, as a cohost
along with Indonesia.

While attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) Summit in Phnom Penh 2002, President Mbeki, in his
capacity as then-chair of the African Union (AU), proposed an
exchange of views and experiences and called on ASEAN leaders to
cooperate with Africa on the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD).

In response to Mbeki's call, Indonesia proposed South Africa
cosponsor an Asian-African Summit, in conjunction with the golden
jubilee celebrations of the 1955 Bandung Conference.

Both countries agreed to host the summit with an aim at
reviving the "Bandung Spirit" and establishing a new bridge
between Asia and Africa.

Since then, South Africa and Indonesia have jointly organized
four meetings -- the Asian-African Sub-Regional Organizations
Conference (AASROC I) in July 2003 in Bandung; the AASROC
Ministerial Working Group Meeting in March 2004 in Durban; AASROC
II in August 2004 also in Durban; and a Senior Officials Meeting
(SOM) in March 2005 in Jakarta -- to prepare for the Asian-
African Summit.

In 1955, leaders from Asia and Africa met in Bandung to
discuss ways and means by which the people of two continents
could achieve fuller economic, cultural and political
cooperation. They also envisioned a world order of independence,
peace, justice and common prosperity.

The ANC sent a delegation to the Asian-African Conference,
which inspired many liberation struggles against colonialism and
strengthened solidarity among Asian and African nations.

The Bandung Conference's core principles -- solidarity.
friendship and cooperation -- are still relevant and form the
basis for resolving global issues of common concern and
strengthening better relations among nations.

South Africa and Indonesia are jointly organizing the Asian-
African Summit later this month in Jakarta to reinvigorate the
"Bandung Spirit" and forge a new Asian-African strategic
partnership.

"South Africa sees there is a need for fostering cooperation
and establishing a strategic partnership between Asia and Africa
in the spirit of South-South cooperation. That's why we took the
initiative jointly with Indonesia to organize this summit,"
Memela said.

More than 100 countries and 56 heads of state/government from
Asia and Africa are scheduled to take part in the summit in
Jakarta, as well as attend celebrations to mark the golden
jubilee of the 1955 Asian-African Conference in Bandung on April
24.

At the end of the summit, all the Asian and African leaders
will launch a declaration on the New Asian-African Strategic
Partnership.