Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair will pay a farewell visit to South Africa at the end of the month, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad said on Friday.
Blair, who earlier this month announced he would leave office on June 27, will arrive in South Africa on May 31 for his last official visit to the country.
He is expected to meet President Thabo Mbeki during his visit.
Paying tribute to Blair, Pahad said he did much during his time in office to put Africa high on the agenda of the international community.
”We hope that the good foundation laid by Blair would be taken up by the new prime minister,” Pahad said.
While his last visit might be a farewell visit, Pahad said it was still important as it comes ahead of the Group of Eight (G8) summit in Germany in June.
He said Mbeki will engage Blair to see how he could, even out of office, assist with finishing the programme of support to Africa that he had started at the G8 summit held in Gleneagles, Scotland. — Sapa