The governments of the United States of America and South Africa have agreed on the way to further boost the economies of both countries.
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This was made in a joint statement released to Journalists after? the second meeting of the South Africa-United States of America Strategic Dialogue on Tuesday at DIRCO’s OR Tambo Building in Pretoria between the South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and the United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
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During the meeting, Minister Nkoana-Mashabane and Secretary Clinton noted the expanding cooperation between the two countries on a broad range of issues since the first Strategic Dialogue meeting in December 2010, including the achievements of the respective working groups established under the auspices of the Strategic Dialogue’s Annual Bilateral Forum.?
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While they consulted on a number of global issues, including developments in Africaand the Middle East, the election of Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as Chairperson of the African Union Commission was welcomed by both parties and it was agreed to continue to deepen cooperation on strategic issues through regular consultation, including through regular bilateral meetings of senior officials.?
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Minister Nkoana-Mashabane and Secretary Clinton noted the United States’ $3.2 billion contribution to South Africa’s HIV/AIDS programme which has helped South Africa reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV, lower the costs of antiretroviral therapies, and scale up prevention, including through a $40 million grant to the voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (MMC) Programme.?
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“The Strategic Dialogue discussed how the transfer of ownership of PEPFAR’s care and treatment programmes to South Africa will occur.? This will be the first such transfer anywhere in the world.? The U.S. and South Africa committed to working together until the back of the HIV/AIDS pandemic is broken.?? The importance of safeguarding food security as a requisite to continued economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa was also discussed” the joint statement said.
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They also welcomed U.S.-South African cooperation to improve food security through the Feed the Future Strategic Partnership and as well agreed to continue dialogue in the area of nuclear safety, including the safeguarding of nuclear materials, nonproliferation activities globally and disarmament.
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Noting the importance of the South Africa-U.S. Nonproliferation and Disarmament Dialogue which began in 2009 to enhance cooperation on a wide spectrum of nuclear issues, both officials expressed satisfaction with the growing cooperation on energy achieved through the second meeting of the U.S.-South Africa Energy Dialogue in January 2012.
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Minister Nkoana-Mashabane and Secretary Clinton celebrated that two-way goods and services trade between the United States and South Africa reached R181.6 billion? (US $21.8 billion) last year, a 21% increase over the previous year, making the United States? South Africa’s third largest trading partner.?
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The United States is the largest portfolio investor and the third largest source of foreign direct investment in South Africa. It was noted that South African companies have made significant investments in the United Statesand that South Africa remains a key export destination, constituting 15.5% of total U.S. trade with Africa.
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In this regard, the critical role of AGOA in promoting trade and investment in Africa was noted
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Secretary Clinton was accompanied by a high-level delegation which included Undersecretary of State Robert Hormats, Undersecretary of Commerce Francisco Sánchez, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson, White House Senior Director for Africa Affairs Grant Harris, Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby, Export-Import Bank of the United States Chairman Fred Hochberg, Overseas Private Investment Corporation President Elizabeth Littlefield, US Trade and Development Agency Director Leocadia I. Zak and other Senior Officials.? Senior officials from 11 U.S. companies also accompanied Secretary Clinton to explore trade and investment opportunities in South Africa.
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