Deputy Minister Botes to Co-chair the South Africa-Poland Political Consultations

The Deputy Minister Alvin Botes will co-chair the South Africa-Poland Political Consultations with his counterpart, HE Mr Andrzej Szejna, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, on 29 November 2024, in Warsaw, Poland.

The consultations will provide an opportunity for the Deputy Minister and his counterpart to review the state of bilateral political relations with a view to consolidating and further enhancing diplomatic and political cooperation between the two nations.

The Deputy Ministers will also share perspectives and deepen their understanding of regional, multilateral and global issues of mutual concern.

As part of the aim to promote economic diplomacy, the consultations will also seek to catalyse progress towards the inauguration of the Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC), which is an important structured mechanism for the coordination of economic activities between the two countries.

The Bilateral Political Consultations between the two countries take place annually based on the Protocol on Consultations signed in Pretoria on 19 September 1995. The last session of the consultations was held on 2 December 2022, in Pretoria.

Poland views South Africa as its priority partner in Africa, both with regard to bilateral relations and South Africa’s strategic partnership with the EU. South Africa is also Poland’s most important trading partner in Africa.

Per Kind Favour of APO

Africa Fact: Africans were the first to organise fishing expeditions 90,000 years ago. At Katanda, a region in northeastern Zaïre (now Congo), was recovered a finely wrought series of harpoon points, all elaborately polished and barbed. Also uncovered was a tool, equally well crafted, believed to be a dagger. The discoveries suggested the existence of an early aquatic or fishing based culture.