Photo by: Bloomberg
South Africa and Turkey are to elevate relations to the level of a binational commission (BNC), the presidency said on Sunday.
President Jacob Zuma held discussions with his Turkish counterpart President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the margins of the G20 leaders summit taking place in Antalya, Turkey, it said in a statement.
The two leaders agreed to structure the relations between the two countries at a BNC level, to be chaired by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Turkish counterpart.
Zuma and Erdogan agreed to elevate relations and take further the already strong economic, social, and political relations, and especially to advance trade co-operation, among others.
Zuma congratulated Erdogan on the success of the Turkish presidency of the G20 which had ensured that under Turkish leadership development was located at the centre of the G20 work. The G20 development working group successfully established stronger links with other workstreams which ensured the prominence of the development agenda throughout the G20 agenda.
Zuma also welcomed the fact that the G20 had put Africa’s development on the agenda with the focus on energy, with Turkey hosting the first ever G20 energy ministers meeting this year, which among other things, focused on inclusive energy collaboration on the basis of the G20 energy principles agreed to at the last G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia.
“We think that Turkey has set a good foundation for this new trajectory for the G20 which, if handled correctly, will contribute to a better world,” Zuma said in the statement.