Item 718 - Statement on visit by President Mandela to Oman and Bahrain

TRANSCRIPT

President Nelson Mandela will visit the Sultanate of Oman and the State of Bahrain from 6 to 8 April 1999. The visit will take place at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman and His Highness Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain respectively. The President will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo and senior Government officials.

The visit follows discussions between the President and the leaders of the two Gulf states during the summit meeting of the Gulf Co-operation Council held in Abu Dhabi in December 1998. President Mandela attended the summit meeting at the invitation of Gulf Arab leaders and accepted the two invitations to visit. In the case of Bahrain, the invitation was initially extended by Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, the former Amir of Bahrain who passed away on 6 March 1999. President Mandela will personally convey his condolences to the new Amir, who re-extended the invitation.

During the visit, President Mandela will meet with the Heads of State of the two countries, as well as with senior government ministers and business leaders. Relations between South Africa and both Gulf states are friendly and the President will discuss ways in which these ties could be strengthened further. Particular emphasis will be placed on the promotion of investments in South Africa. Discussions will also be held on multilateral issues such as co-operation within the framework of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Co-operation (IOR-ARC) and the non-aligned Movement.