Brussels, 23/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - The security and resolution of conflicts in Africa, the conflict in Syria and the Iranian question will be at the centre of the 11th ministerial meeting of the regular political dialogue between the EU and South Africa which takes place this Friday 24 August in Pretoria under the joint presidency of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and Mäite Nkoana-Mashabane, the South African minister for international relations and cooperation. The objective of the meeting is to prepare the annual EU-South Africa summit - the fifth of its kind since the conclusion in 2007 of the strategic partnership between the two countries - which will take place in Brussels on 18 September.
On Thursday, before flying to South Africa, Ashton said that this ministerial meeting “will enable the EU and South Africa to discuss and provide leadership on current global and African issues, such as the future of Somalia and Sudan, the fight against piracy, and the situation in the Sahel. We will also address the need to curb the current spiral of violence in Syria, and to consolidate the international community's efforts to get Iran to respect its international obligations.”
The last bilateral summit was held in September 2011 at the Kruger National Park. Ashton, who was at that time occupied with the peace process in the Middle East, was unable to attend (see EUROPE 10454). (AN/transl.fl)