Wednesday, 28 July 2010 13:59

Written by BuaNews

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South Africa and Cuba hope to push their bilateral and multilateral cooperation to the next level when they hold their 8th Joint Consultative Mechanism (JCM) in Pretoria on Thursday.

International Relations Deputy Minister, Ebrahim Ebrahim, will co-chair the meeting which will focus on domestic political and socio-economic issues in both countries while also touching on regional issues.

"The JCM is an annual forum to review political, bilateral and multilateral issues of mutual interest and will make provision for the two countries to address issues of national, regional and international concern," department spokesperson Saul Molobi said on Wednesday.

The 8th JCM meeting, he said, takes place against the backdrop of solid bilateral and fraternal relations established during the past 16 years of official diplomatic relations.

Cuba is one of South Africa's most important strategic partners in Latin America and the Caribbean and maintains excellent bilateral exchanges in a variety of fields of political and socio-economic activity.

There are more than 400 architects, engineers, electricians and other technical experts deployed throughout South Africa by various line function departments such as human settlements, public works and social development.

The two countries also have a long standing history of cooperation in projects that have provided much-needed healthcare in the continent.

Through the Health Cooperation Agreement, more than 500 South Africans have undergone training in Cuba through the medical scholarship programme. There are currently 300 students studying in Cuba, and 103 doctors working in South Africa.

Although bilateral trade remains low, there has been a steady increase in trade over the past few years and the two countries are working at a strategy to address the trade gaps.