South Africa on Friday signed letters of intent with Guinea to help the West African country revive its transport infrastructure.
The signing follows a two-day joint commission headed by Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and her Guinean counterpart, Mamady Conde, in Pretoria.
It was the first such meeting between the two countries, which also saw an agreement on the waiving of visa restrictions for official and diplomatic passport holders and a memorandum of understanding on language training being signed.
”Besides the letters of intent there have been discussions around air transport and merchant shipping,” Dlamini-Zuma said.
Transport Minister Jeff Radebe told the South African Press Association afterwards that the details of exactly what the assistance in rebuilding Guinea’s transport infrastructure will entail will still be worked out.
”It would probably consist of a public-private partnership between both countries,” he said.
Guinea possesses major mineral, hydropower and agricultural resources, yet remains an underdeveloped nation.
South Africa’s trade with Guinea is dominated by mining companies such as Randgold, De Beers and Billiton operating in the country.
In 2005 South Africa exported goods to the value of R236-million and imported goods to the value of R11-million. — Sapa