South African FM to discuss new UN role with Rice

Jan 5, 2007 (JOHANNESBURG) — South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will hold talks this weekend with her counterpart Condoleezza Rice after Pretoria took up a new seat on the United Nations Security Council.

Sunday’s talks between Dlamini-Zuma and Secretary of State Rice in Washington are aimed at beefing up ties, “South Africa’s accession to the non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council,” and preventing conflicts in Africa, the foreign ministry said Friday.

South African President Thabo Mbeki met his US counterpart George W. Bush on December 8 in Washington, where they discussed a slew of issues including African crises such as Sudan’s Darfur region and Somalia.

Dlamini-Zuma had said that South Africa would strive in its new UN role to work jointly with the African Union and the UN Security Council to prevent conflicts on the continent.

South Africa began its two-year stint on the security council last week.

Dlamini-Zuma will also hand over the chairmanship of the Group of 77 + China bloc to Pakistan at a ceremony in New York on Wednesday which will be attended by the new UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

(AFP)