Pretoria - International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana Mashabane will travel to Moscow, the Russian Federation for the 11th Session of South Africa-Russia Joint Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation (ITEC).
Nkoana Mashabane will co-chair the meeting with the Minister for Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, Sergey Donskoi, scheduled for 12-13 November 2012.
"The 11th ITEC will be preceded by a bilateral meeting hosted by Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. The bilateral meeting will present an opportunity to discuss bilateral and multilateral cooperation between South Africa and Russia as well as issues on the global agenda," the department said.
The ITEC is a bilateral cooperation mechanism between South Africa and the Russian Federation, which meets annually to consider technical co-operation between the two countries.
"The 11th Session of ITEC takes place within the context of strengthening North-South Dialogue and against the backdrop of solid relations between the two countries with particularly deep and extensive cooperation in the fields of education and skills development; energy; minerals; transport; agriculture, fisheries, water resources, justice; and science and technology," the department said.
South Africa regards the Russian Federation as a strategic partner and close bilateral and multilateral ties exist between the two countries.
According to the department, while there is currently no structured mechanism for political dialogue between South Africa and Russia, ITEC serves as the mechanism for broadening and deepening economic and trade ties.
ITEC serves as the engine room for the generation of new bilateral agreements and for reviewing and bolstering implementation of those agreements. - SAnews.gov.za
