Pretoria welcomes President Tebboune’s decision to name Baraki Stadium after Nelson Mandela

By: Hana Saada

PRETORIA- South Africa, on Monday, welcomed the decision of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, to baptize the Baraki stadium (Algiers), after the late leader Nelson Mandela, which reflects “the depth and the solidity of the historical relations between the two sisterly countries and brotherly peoples”, declared the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa, Naledi Pandor.

Pandor expressed, during the joint press conference held with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad, Ramtane Lamamra, at the end of political consultations between the two countries, her country’s “gratitude” for this tribute which reflects “the depth and solidity of the historical relations between the two sisterly countries and brotherly peoples and their common struggle against colonialism and foreign hegemony”.

The President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, declared to the press after the inauguration ceremony of the stadium on January 12: “we will not find a better symbol than Nelson Mandela to represent Algeria, ‘South Africa and the African Continent’.

The President of the Republic recalled the fight led by the leader Nelson Mandela and his historical relationship with Algeria where, he said, was trained, with his companions, by the mujahideen of the Liberation Army (ALN) in 1961, to prepare the revolution in South Africa and overthrow the apartheid regime.

Earlier, President Tebboune received, at the headquarters of the Presidency of the Republic, Zwelivelile Mandela, the grandson of the late South African leader, Nelson Mandela. In a statement at the end of the audience, the second of its kind, Zwelivelile Mandela expressed “his gratitude” after meeting the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

“For us, Algeria is the country of revolutionaries and martyrs. We have expressed, today, our permanent loyalty to the martyrs, and we held discussions as members of the same family,” he further noted.

“I discussed the ways to establish a close and strong partnership between the two countries. I am impressed by the youth, the beating heart of this nation, and the catalyst of the economy. The Algerian youth is evolving rapidly and is serving the country under the rules of democracy,” stated Zwelivelile.

“We leave Algeria with the heart filled with happiness because we had the chance to visit our second home,” he said, expressing the willingness to “seize all opportunities to bring the two countries closer,” through the opening of a direct Algiers-Johannesburg airline.

In this regard, Zwelivelile said he was convinced that “the citizens of South Africa would like to visit Algeria and discover its natural landscapes.”

Sneak peek into Algerian, South African relations:

The relations between Algeria and South Africa are deep rooted in history, cemented by the same aspiration for the ideals of peace and justice in the world and a common vision with respect to the main regional and international issues, as illustrated by the leading role the two countries are playing in promoting and defending African causes and interests.

In line with this, Algeria unwaveringly supported, in every respect, the South African people and their leaders represented by the late NELSON MANDELA himself as well as emblematic figures like Walter SISULU, Oliver TAMBO and Miriam MAKEBA, in their just cause of freedom and dignity recovery.

The celebrated words of the late MANDELA during a gathering following his release from jail «Algeria is my country» are a tribute to the symbiosis which has ever characterized the deep bonds between the Algerian and South African peoples.

The late Mandela received a military training from the militants of the Algerian National Liberation Army and developed political and strategic links between the revolutions of freedom in Algeria and in South Africa as it is clearly reflected in Madiba’s diary. Just with the accession of Algeria to independence in 1962, the African National Congress (ANC) opened an office in Algiers. Umkhonto we Sizwe recruits (the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC), founded by Nelson Mandela) have also been trained in Algeria after the independence of our country.

The solidarity of Algeria with the South African people has been illustrated again by the leading role played by our country in the expulsion of apartheid South Africa from the United Nations General Assembly in 1974. The General Assembly was then under the chairperson of former President, Mr. Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA, who was at that time Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria.

Just after his release from prison in 1990, the late Nelson MANDELA visited Algiers where he paid a special tribute to Algeria for the strong and permanent support given to the South Africans and himself in the struggle for freedom and dignity.

Following the passing of the late MANDELA, who served as president between 1994 and 1999, Algeria decreed eight days of national mourning, an honour usually reserved only to the Algerian Presidents.

Drawing on the same source of values, Algeria and South Africa are today engaged in a strategic partnership materialized by one of the first bi-national commissions for cooperation established by South Africa with another country, the Algerian-South African High Binational Commission for Cooperation (HCBNC), created by Agreement of 22 September 2000.

Since the first session of the HCBNC which took place during the working and friendly visit to Algeria, in September 2000, by His Excellency, Thabo MBEKI, then President of the Republic of South Africa, the bilateral cooperation has been significantly strengthened, notably through a rich legal framework with the signing of numerous agreements and their implementation in various fields and also by a regular political dialogue and consultation.

The two countries are acting resolutely and methodically to translate this partnership into tangible actions in various areas.

The visit that His Excellency, Mr. Jacob ZUMA, Former President of the Republic of South Africa, carried out to Algeria in March 2015, the highly important meetings that took place on this occasion with His Excellency, former President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA and the holding of the Sixth Session of the High Binational Commission for Cooperation, illustrated the magnitude and the strategic nature of the relations between Algeria and South Africa. On that occasion, the progress of the bilateral cooperation was assessed and new areas for partnership were identified. A memorandum of understanding on political consultations was signed. The first session of the consultations took place in November 2015.

The two Heads of State agreed also on the necessity of further raising the level of economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Algerian-South African cooperation in science and technology is excellent with very promising perspectives while cultural exchanges are steadily evolving.

Regionally, the two countries are today leading partners in defending the interests of Africa, its values, its principles and its aspirations. Besides, both countries share convergence of views on political solutions for conflicts, crises, and tensions as well as the quest for ways to make Africa a credible and efficient actor in the prevention and management of conflicts on the basis of the principle of «African solutions to African problems».

The two countries Africa were among the initiators of a number of African mechanisms, including the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The exercise “Amani Africa II” which took place in 2015 in South Africa and in which Algeria put its own air transport capacities at the disposal of the African contingents, illustrates the common commitment of the two countries. The same goes for the efforts of Algeria and South Africa to set up the African immediate crisis response capacity in order to better transpose into reality the vision of a unified, peaceful and prosperous Africa. (Algerian Embassy in South Africa).

Earlier, the plans of the Zionists to sneak quietly into the African Union as an observer state have been, spectacularly, backfired. The tireless efforts exerted by Algeria, alongside South Africa, and their friends to rescind the observer status granted to the Zionist Entity in the African Union (AU), have been crowned with success. The Zionist entity’s observer status in AU has been suspended on the second day of the 35th African Union Summit held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, under the theme: “Strengthening Food Security: Accelerating the Development of Human, Social and Economic Capital in the African Continent.”