President Jacob Zuma will visit Botswana‚ Namibia and Swaziland between Monday and Friday this week for consultations with heads of state and government of members states of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).
Presidency spokesman Bongani Majola said the consultations were a follow up to the discussions held by the SACU Heads of State and Government during the inauguration of the new SACU Headquarters building in Windhoek‚ Namibia‚ on November 12 2015.
“The discussions will also focus on progress in the implementation of the SACU work programme as adopted by the 2011 SACU Summit. The deliberations will also consider regional‚ continental and global economic and trade developments and their impact on SACU‚” he said.
The SACU‚ one of the oldest customs union in the world‚ is 105 years old and consists of five members‚ namely Botswana‚ Lesotho‚ Namibia‚ South Africa and Swaziland.
“President Zuma‚ who is the current Chair of the SACU Summit‚ will be accompanied by Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane‚ Minister of International Relations and Cooperation; Dr Rob Davies‚ Minister of Trade and Industry and Mr Mcebisi Jonas‚ the Deputy Minister of Finance.
Consultations with Lesotho are ongoing to find a suitable date for the President’s visit to Maseru‚” Majola said.