5 May 2014
The consolidation of Africa-Palestine relations was one of the issues on the agenda when International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane hosted her Palestinian counterpart, Raid Malki, in Pretoria on the weekend.
“The meeting between the ministers is the culmination of a week-long programme in support of the United Nations declaration of 2014 as the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People,” the Department of International Relations said in a statement on Friday.
The two ministers also discussed the current state of South Africa-Palestine relations, the recent reconciliation agreement reached between Fatah and Hamas, as well as the Middle East peace process in general
South Africa also hosted the Palestinian Heads of Mission Conference for African Ambassadors in Cape Town on 29 and 30 April, and a Palestinian Solidarity Seminar involving civil society and academia to create awareness of the Palestinian cause.
According to the department, South Africa and Palestine have enjoyed warm relations since the inception of democracy, with official diplomatic relations between South Africa and Palestine being established in 1995.
Source: SAnews.gov
