Pretoria, 30 November 2023 - Cuban and South African authorities strengthened collaboration in the water resources field as they celebrated 20 years of bilateral cooperation in the sector. Bladimir Matos, on the Cuban side, and David Mahlobo, on the South African side, led the delegations of their respective countries to the VII Joint Steering Committee.
At the end of the seventh Joint RSA-CUBA Steering Committee, both sides agreed, among other things, to expand collaboration in the future to other areas, including infrastructure investment and planning. They also agreed to work together on the development of green energy, including hydropower, as well as to address climate change and its impact on infrastructure and national disaster management.
According to the final communiqué signed by South Africa's First Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, David Mahlobo, and Bladimir Matos, First Deputy President of the National Institute of Water Resources of Cuba, a Joint Working Group will be established to draft a new agreement covering the period 2025-2030. This would be adopted at the eighth CUBA-RSA Joint Steering Committee, to be held in Havana in September 2024.
According to the coordinator of the Cuban brigade, Lázaro González, the island's specialists are currently working in South Africa in the operation and maintenance of pumping stations and systems, as well as in reservoirs associated with electricity generation, mining industries and food production. They are also involved in hydraulic and civil engineering work on regional infrastructure projects, cost control associated with their development in municipalities, and drought relief programmes.
In addition, he added, tasks related to the development of Emergency Preparedness Plans that include the management of water reservoirs, all linked to the improvement of water resources infrastructure, leading to the improvement of the lives of the South African people.
After the signing of the agreement the parties recalled how the founding fathers of the agreement, President Nelson Mandela and Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro, demonstrated a spirit of brotherhood befitting the historic bilateral relationship that was strengthened during the meeting. At the event, Mahlobo thanked the Cuban people for the sacrifices made in the struggle for South Africa's independence, and highlighted how the Cuban people provide humanity with resources and services in the fields of science, engineering and health.
Mahlobo also called for an end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba and praised the Cuban people "for their unwavering resistance and refusal to allow the West and its allies to undermine the hard-won Revolution".
For his part, Matos thanked the South African government for its support and repeated calls for the lifting of the blockade and unilateral sanctions against the Cuban people, and pledged loyalty to the vision and legacy of Presidents Mandela and Fidel.
(Prensa Latina-Cuban Embassy in South Africa)