Pretoria - South Africa and Turkey are to take their bilateral relations to the next level, with the setting up of a Binational Commission (BNC), the Presidency said on Sunday.
This emerged after talks between President Jacob Zuma and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit taking place in Antalya, Turkey.
The two leaders agreed to structure relations between the two countries at a BNC level to be chaired by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on the South African side and his counterpart on the Turkish side.
Presidents Zuma and Erdogan agreed to elevate relations in order to “further the already strong economic, social and political relations and especially to advance trade and people-to-people cooperation,” said the Presidency.
President Zuma used the opportunity to congratulate President Erdogan on the success of the Turkish Presidency of the G20, which ensured that under Turkish leadership, development was placed at the centre of the G20 work.
The G20 Development Working Group successfully established stronger links with other work streams in the G20, which ensured the prominence of the development agenda throughout the G20 agenda.
The G20 focuses on developmental issues such as the promotion of small and medium enterprises, strengthening women's participation in the labour force as well as addressing youth unemployment – all of which was strongly applauded by President Zuma.
President Zuma welcomed the fact that the G20 has put Africa's development on the agenda with the focus on energy. Turkey hosted the first ever G20 Energy Ministers’ meeting this year, which among other things, focused on inclusive energy collaboration on the basis of the G20 energy principles agreed to at the last G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia.
"We think that Turkey has set a good foundation for this new trajectory for the G20 which, if handled correctly, will contribute to a better world," said President Zuma.
The two leaders also used their meeting to condemn the Paris terror attacks and welcomed the fact that terrorism would be discussed at the G20 Summit, as the matter required the attention of all leaders globally. – SAnews.gov.za
