Pretoria - The South Africa/Namibia Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security has expressed confidence that COP17 will yield results that will advance humankind's endeavours to mitigate the threat of climate change to human security.
COP17 is scheduled to take place in Durban next week
The commission met for three days in Cape Town this week where it reviewed the implementation of decisions taken at the 10th session of the JPCDS which took place in Namibia in 2010 and noted progress made in the implementation thereof.
The commission was satisfied with the continued cooperation by the two countries in the areas of defence, public and state security. It appreciated the successful number of joint training activities between South Africa and Namibia.
In terms of Navy to Navy cooperation, the commission was satisfied at the level of progress made between the two Defence Forces. The success of Navy to Navy training between the two countries was an important building block towards the implementation of the SADC Maritime Security Strategy which was endorsed by the SADC Heads of State.
The commission also agreed that liaison forums between the two Defence Forces should be improved to work out ways of conducting joint patrols on land, air and maritime borders.
Building on the success of the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which was relatively free of criminal activities as a result of cooperation between the two countries and other SADC member States, the commission believed that working together can enhance the overall security of the region.
At the end of the meeting, the Namibian delegation extended an invitation to the South African delegation to the 12th Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security to be held in Namibia on a date and venue to be announced.
The South African delegation was led by State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele.
