Deputy President Motlanthe to host the Polish Prime Minister on an Official Visit

TheDeputy President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency KgalemaMotlanthe, will host the Prime Minister of Poland, His Excellency Donald Tusk,on an Official Visit to South Africa on 17-18 October 2013.  PrimeMinister Tusk will be accompanied by a ministerial and business delegation.

PrimeMinister Tusk's visit to South Africa will be his first visit to South Africasince he became the Prime Minister of Poland in November 2007. The Prime Minister'svisit was preceded by the political consultations in Pretoria on 10 July 2013between Deputy Minister Fransman and his Polish counterpart, Ms Beata Stelmachto review bilateral relations and prepare for the Official Visit of the PrimeMinister.

SouthAfrica and Poland enjoy warm and cordial relations. The Prime Minister'sOfficial Visit will facilitate the mutually beneficial and complementarybilateral relations and an agreement on priority areas for cooperation. Duringthe official meeting, the two leaders will review the status of bilateralrelations and pay particular attention to the implementation of priorityagreements. The Economic Cooperation Agreement will be signed providing for theestablishment of a Joint Economic Committee (JEC) which will establish thenecessary frameworks and programme of action for the enhancement of theeconomic cooperation.

DeputyPresident Motlanthe and Prime Minister Tusk will explore new bilateralcooperation in   agriculture and rural development, education andskills development, environmental affairs, science and technology, transportand maritime.

TheDeputy President and the Prime Minister will attend the South Africa-PolandBusiness Forum that will be held at the Gallagher Estates on 17 October 2013.

Totaltrade between South Africa and Poland grew from R 2.6 billion in 2006 and toR6.3 billion in 2012. South Africa's major exports to Poland are dominated byMachinery equipment and vehicles, salt and sulphur, aluminium, ores, slag andash. Poland's major exports to South Africa are machinery and nuclear reactors,electrical, electronic equipment, and vehicles other than railway, tramway,essential oils, perfumes and miscellaneous manufactured articles.

SouthAfrica has significant investments in Poland in the beverages, paper, furnituremanufacturing, and retail and distribution sectors. Polish commercial interestsin South Africa are mainly in tourism, aviation, pharmaceuticals, miningequipment and services sector, heavy duty industrial equipment and glass ware.

For further information please contact Mr ClaysonMonyela spokesperson for DIRCO on 082 884 5974

Issuedby: The Department of International Relations and Cooperation