President Thabo Mbeki has wrapped up his two-day state visit to Tunisia, and will proceed to Hungary to attend a governance summit, Department of Foreign Affairs officials said on Wednesday.
Mbeki — who was accompanied to Tunisia by his wife, Zanele; several Cabinet ministers; and business leaders — arrived in Tunisia on Tuesday.
From Tunisia, Mbeki will fly to Budapest, Hungary, ahead of the Sixth Progressive Governance Summit from Thursday, said Ronnie Mamoepa, spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Mamoepa said the summit, scheduled to end on Friday, will be hosted by Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcs Eny.
Chilean President Richardo Lagos, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will attend the summit.
Prime ministers from Britain, Canada, the Czech Republic, Korea, Ethiopia, New Zealand, Romania, Sweden and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder are also expected to attend the summit, he said.
”These leaders will deliberate on the challenges … of progressive politics with the aim of exchanging ideas … that will help in the development of progressive solutions towards the problems citizens all over the world experience today.”
Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is expected to return to South Africa before her departure to The Hague over the weekend.
The minister was part of Mbeki’s delegation to Tunisia. She will go to The Hague to a meeting of leaders from the Southern African Development Community and Europe. — Sapa