RA AMBASSADOR TO EGYPT VISITS SOUTH AFRICA TO HAND CREDENTIALS TO PRESIDENT OF REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA AND TO HAVE OFFICIAL MEETINGS

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 03 2006

PRETORIA, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Ambassador of Armenia
to Egypt Ruben Karapetian was in South Africa on April 17-26 to hand
credentials to the President of the country and to hold official
meetings. The official ceremony of handing credentials took place
in Pretoria on April 18. Ambassador of Armenia Ruben Karapetian and
President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki exchanged greetings during
what the President appreciated appointment of the RA Ambassador to
the Republic of South Africa for the first time, expressing a hope
that development of bilateral relations will be of a more practical
and successive character from now on. Then a private conversation
took place between the Ambassador of Armenia and the RSA President,
during which the necessity of activizing cooperation in all directions
was bilaterally emphasized, those long-lasting spheres were mentioned
where a great potential exists, particularly, in the spheres of diamond
manufacturing, information technologies, agriculture, wine-making,
food industry as well as health care, tourism and education. Ruben
Karapetian presented Thabo Mbeki the fundamental principles and primary
tasks of the foreign policy of Armenia, relations of Armenia with
countries of the region and the present stage of settlement process
of the Nagorno Karabakh problem. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the
RA Foreign Ministry’s Press and Information Department, in Pretoria
the Ambassador had meetings with the Health Care Minister, Deputy
Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Industry, Agriculture,
the Chairman of the Commerce and Industry Chamber and businessmen. The
Ambassador participated and had a speech in Johannesburg on April
23 in the event dedicated to the memory of the Genocide victims. The
event was organized by the newly founded Armenian Association of South
Africa. Ruben Karapetian visited Cape Town on April 24-26 where he met
with the Chairman of the Western Cape Investment and Trade Promotion
Agency (WESGRO), the Director of the Center for Agricultural
Researches. The Ambassador visited wine-making regions out of Cape Town
and had practical discussions with heads of big companies of the sphere
of wine-making, concerning possibilities of implementing technological
investments, exchange of exprience and joint researches. During his
visit to South Africa, Ambassador Ruben Karapetian gave two interviews
to Pretoria and Cape Town dailies with the biggest print run.