Minister Pandor leads the South African delegation at the 16th South Africa – Russian Federation Session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation (ITEC)

The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor will lead the South African delegation and Co-Chair the Ministerial Segment of the 16th South Africa – Russia Federation Session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation (ITEC), taking place, virtually, today, Tuesday, 20 July 2021.

The Russian delegation will be led by the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr Andreyevich Kozlov, who will also Co-Chair the Session with Minister Pandor.

The ITEC takes place within the context of the Bilateral Agreement that was signed in 1999 and revived in 2002 to give impetus to the political commitment between the two countries to broaden and deepen their relations. These engagements are further guided by the Treaty of Friendship and Partnership signed in September 2006, as well as by the Declaration of Strategic Partnership signed in March 2013 in Durban, South Africa, further affirmed through a Declaration signed on the margins of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg in 2018.

The scope of cooperation of the SA-Russia ITEC includes Trade and Investment; Mineral Resources; Energy; Transport; Science and Technology; Water Resources; Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Higher Education; Information and Communication; Health; as well as Arts and Culture. The South Africa-Russia Business Council is also an important vehicle that has the mandate to strengthen business, trade and investment ties between the business communities of the two countries.

The Co-chairs of ITEC Technical Sub-Committees representing the relevant South African Departments, as well as the South African Chapter of the Business Council, will attend in support of the South African Co-Chair.

During the Session, the Co-chairs of ITEC Subcommittees from both sides will provide feedback to the Ministers on progress made by the various Sub-Committees who deliberated with their counterparts on areas of co-operation from 13 to 15 July 2021.

Source: Government of South Africa