Pretoria - Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Dr Naledi Pandor is today hosting the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, in Pretoria.
The two ministers will this morning hold bilateral talks. The top diplomats will also exchange views on issues of common bilateral, regional and multilateral issues.
Lavrov is in South Africa on an official visit at the invitation of Pandor. The tour has attracted criticism from some sections, owing to Russia’s invasion of its neighbour Ukraine, given South Africa’s neutral stance in the conflict.
However, South Africa has maintained strong ties with its partners in the BRICS forum – Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Africa were established on February 28, 1992.
In 2022, South Africa and the Russian Federation celebrated 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the Department of International Relations and Co-operation says the historical links between the two countries remain strong.
The former USSR was one of the key supporters of the struggle for liberation in South Africa. South Africa became the first African state to recognise the independence of the Russian Federation post dissolution of the USSR.
The Declaration on a Strategic Partnership between the Republic of South Africa and the Russian Federation was signed on the margins of the 5th BRICS summit that was held in Durban in March 2013 by heads of state of South Africa and the Russian Federation.
That declaration affirmed the strategic partnership between South Africa and Russia and set the principles and framework for an equitable and mutually beneficial partnership that will support the two countries national development priorities, the African agenda and the establishment of a peaceful, just and democratic global governance system. The signing of the Declaration on a Strategic Partnership in 2013 was preceded by the South Africa-Russia Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation that was signed during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to South Africa in 2006.
Political bilateral relations between South Africa and the Russian Federation, which cover a range of issues, are at a strategic level. However, analysts have highlighted that the current economic relations between the two friendly nations do not match the high level of political relations.
IOL