President Thabo Mbeki and Foreign Minister Nkosazana Zuma arrived in Cuba late on Thursday night for the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit meeting of heads of state and government.
Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said the president’s visit to Cuba was ”to effectively position NAM to play a meaningful role in global affairs”.
Other members of the South African delegation included deputy foreign minister Aziz Pahad, and foreign affairs director-general Ayanda Ntsaluba, who were already in Cuba for the NAM ministerial meeting.
The summit’s agenda includes poverty and under-development, peace and security, and ”the restructuring of the global exercise of power”.
The Middle East situation, terrorism, reform of the United Nations and progress towards attaining the millennium development goals would also be discussed.
South Africa is a member of the ”NAM troika,” which consists of current, past and present chairpersons. Malaysia and Cuba are the other two members.
”South Africa’s tenure as member of the NAM troika will come to an end should Egypt’s offer to host the summit in 2009 be accepted,” Mamoepa said.
Mbeki was in Brasilia on Wednesday, where he and the Indian prime minister and the Brazilian president participated in the inaugural India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) heads of state and government summit.
After the NAM summit, the president and the foreign minister will proceed to New York for the 61st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, scheduled from Monday to Wednesday of next week. – Sapa