U.S. and South Africa to begin Strategic Dialogue

April 15th, 2010 - 12:34 am ICT by BNO News  

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Wednesday, the State Department said.

The signing formally launched the U.S. – South Africa Strategic Dialogue, which was proposed last year by Secretary Clinton and Minister Nkoana-Mashabane during her visit to South Africa. The Memorandum of Understanding is also intended to establish a framework for bilateral cooperation.

The Strategic Dialogue will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in key areas, such as health, education, food security, law enforcement, trade, investment, energy, and nonproliferation.

Secretary Clinton and Minister Nkoana-Mashabane will be leading the Strategic Dialogue, which will be informed by meetings of the Annual Bilateral Forum (ABF) that is held annually in Pretoria. The ABF will review the work of various existing and potential bilateral issue-based working groups and also identify goals for the bilateral relationship in its next meeting scheduled for May 12-13 in Pretoria.

A joint summary document produced by the ABF will inform Strategic Dialogue meetings, which could be held annually.

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