International Relations and Co-operation Minister Naledi Pandor is on a working visit to Burundi where she will co-chair the inaugural Burundi-South Africa Joint Commission for Co-operation (JCC) session in the Great Lakes country, her office announced on Friday.

Pandor’s co-chair at the meeting is Albert Shingiro, Burundian Foreign Affairs and Development Co-operation Minister, and the two ministers kick-started their discussions in the Burundian capital of Bujumbura on Friday.

In a statement, the ministry said “the JCC will provide a platform for South African institutions to explore further co-operation with Burundi in new and existing areas”.

High on the agenda is co-operation in several economic sectors that include agriculture, food processing, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure development, oil and gas, energy, mining, waste management, packaging, and tourism, the ministry said.

South Africa’s relations with Burundi are described as “sound and cordial” and have improved since the establishment of official diplomatic ties on June 23, 1995.

South Africa played a key role in the AU-led Burundi Peace Process that resulted in the signing of the Arusha Peace Accords in 2000, the ministry noted.

However, bilateral trade with Burundi remains low, it said.

Records showed that major exports from South Africa to Burundi in 2021 amounted to $4.7 million, according to the ministry.

Exports from Burundi to South Africa in that same year amounted to only $430 000, it added.

AE News