Contents:
Background
We, the Governments of the Kingdom of Norway and the Republic of South Africa wish to celebrate the bonds between the two countries by declaring our mutual intention to enhance cooperation in the following fields:
- Strengthening of existing Bilateral Consultations
- Extension of existing Cooperation on Development
Norway and South Africa have shared a close relationship dating back to the struggle against the apartheid regime. Our present cooperation is based on shared values such as human dignity, liberty and equality.
The partnership between Norway and South Africa is strong and solid. Consultations take place both in the international fora and within a regional context as well as bilaterally. Our two countries stand together in the promotion of democracy, good governance and respect for human rights, conflict prevention and promoting peaceful resolution of disputes, advancing sustainable development and alleviating poverty. There is close cooperation within the areas of disarmament, control of the proliferation of small arms, environment, including the follow up of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and social and economic development.
Norway fully supports South Africa's efforts to bring about peace and prosperity on the African Continent. The two Governments through their regular interaction will continue to seek ways and means to address conflict prevention and resolution. The Government of Norway will also continue to support the process of African regional integration through its support for the African Union and the implementation of its socio-economic development programme, NEPAD, and the enhancement of the development of the regional economic communities such as SADC.
The political consultations between our two countries shall continue within the framework set forth in the Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Political Consultations, signed in Cape Town on 12 January 1996, at the same level and with the same frequency as decided in the Declaration of Intent of 17 March 1999. The development cooperation between our two countries will be extended for a period of five years and will be part of our political cooperation.
The Declaration of Intent will constitute an addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding of 12 January 1996 and replace the Declaration of Intent dated 17 March 1999.
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Bilateral Consultations between the Republic of South Africa and the Kingdom of Norway
With reference to the Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Political Consultations, signed in Cape Town on 12 January 1996, and the Declaration of Intent between the Governments of the Republic of South Africa and the Kingdom of Norway, signed in Oslo on 17 March 1999, we, the Governments of the Kingdom of Norway and the Republic of South Africa, wish to reiterate our intent to further strengthen this mechanism.
It is agreed that strictly formalised structures should be avoided. The nucleus of the cooperation will continue to be the annual meetings, at least one at Ministerial level and one at senior officials' level.
These meetings should be flexible and the agendas determined by developments in the relations. The object will be to give direction and impetus in selected areas with regard to international as well as regional and bilateral issues. The structure should be informal and the number of officials limited. These consultations will also include the Norwegian Minister of International Development where appropriate. Important areas of cooperation which are the responsibility of other line function departments, such as trade and economic matters, should be included in the discussions. The development cooperation program is considered to be part of the political cooperation.
In addition to these annual meetings there should be ad hoc meetings between South African and Norwegian delegations at important international conference and meetings, both at political and officials' level.
It is envisaged that the Ministers of Foreign Affairs should meet annually at the United Nations General Assembly. The meeting at senior officials' level should take place between the Norwegian Secretary-General and the South African Director-General of Foreign Affairs. If they are not available then the delegations should be headed by a Deputy Director-General and the Norwegian equivalent.
The content of the meeting should be the exchange of information on the three areas described in the Memorandum of Understanding dated 12 January 1996 with the following provisos:
That international issues be discussed with the view of coordinating responses to events, especially in view of both countries' shared commitment to the promotion of human rights. A strategic dialogue on human rights issues will be developed in this context.
Closer cooperation in the United Nations and other multilateral fora should be planned with strategies for the coming year;
Regional issues should include both African and European perspectives;
The consultations could identify areas which can be concentrated on in the coming year (e.g. trade, scientific links, etc.) with inputs from the relevant Departments or organisations.
The agendas for these consultations will be worked out in details between the Foreign Ministries and Embassies.
This document will constitute an addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding of 12 January 1996.
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Guidelines for Norwegian - South African Development Cooperation - 2005 – 2009
Since 1994 the overall vision of the development cooperation between South Africa and Norway has been to contribute to peace and democracy in South Africa and in the region by assisting South Africa in its transformation to democracy and in its poverty alleviation efforts.
It is generally acknowledged that although considerable achievements in the transition process have been made, major challenges still remain. South Africa clearly indicated that it still requires international partners in the transition process. South Africa's leading regional and continental role has also become more evident. Increasingly the development cooperation should act as a transitional measure in developing sustainable relationships between institutions and organisations in Norway and South Africa. In this respect it is agreed that more time is needed to develop this aspect to its full potential. Political consultations and development cooperation will continue to serve as a base for the further strengthening of the dialogue between the two countries. The political dialogue, as described in the Declaration of Intent, will be closely linked to the development cooperation.
Based on a joint review, several thematic studies as well as extensive consultations with both South African and Norwegian stakeholders, a new period of development cooperation for 2005-2009 has been agreed upon. In response to the challenges facing South Africa, and acknowledging that South Africa's key development objective is the reduction of poverty, vulnerability and inequality, Norwegian development cooperation with South Africa in this period should be directed at achieving these goals. In doing so Norwegian continuation should focus on the following three specific operational objectives:
a) Cooperation in areas where the collaboration could result in long term, self-sustaining relationships;
b) Consolidation of the democratic transition;
c) Strengthening regional integration and collaboration through the utilisation of South African expertise in the region.
The cooperation for the period 2005-2009 shall be aligned with the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and national policies and with Norwegian development policies. The collaboration shall follow national procedures in South Africa. International and regional conventions and the Millennium Development Goals should be entry points for dialogue and form common reference points for the cooperation. Priority shall be given to areas where there is a clear foundation for continued self-sustained collaboration between two countries and prospects of joint funding possibilities. Efforts shall be made to simplify procedures and mechanisms for cooperation, in line with Government policies. This can be done by increased use of common donor funding programmes when feasible, as well as the use of sector (budget) support, which also would imply joint funding. For each area of cooperation, careful attention will be paid to the specific value-add from Norwegian experience and expertise.
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Main Areas of Cooperation
In the next phase of development cooperation there is a need to focus and reduce the number of thematic areas. After consultations between the two countries it has been agreed to concentrate on the following:
i) Democracy/Human Rights/Peace and Security
ii) Higher Education and Research
iii) Environment and Natural Resources
iv) Energy
The above areas correspond to the existing South African clusters as follows:
|
Democracy /Human Rights/Peace and Security could apply to the three clusters of |
International Regional Peace & Security
Governance and Administration
Integrated Justice Cluster |
|
Higher Education and Research |
Social Security |
|
Environment and Natural Resources |
Economic & Employment |
|
Energy |
Economic & Employment |
A Department belonging to a particular cluster does not exclude it from participating in any other cluster initiative.
The decision on the four areas of cooperation has been based on the three objectives mentioned above and the following criteria:
- Experience of the cooperation so far;
- Areas where Norwegian expertise is specifically relevant for South Africa;
- Areas where the collaboration has clearly demonstrated a genuine interest on both sides, and where there are prospects for joint funding.
HIV/Aids will be an important cross-cutting issue within all sectors, and will be a priority area for support to cooperation between Norwegian and South African NGOs.
Planning and programming within the different sectors shall be guided by i.a. the following elements:
- What contribution can Norway make to the responsibilities of the South Africa government in terms of basic service delivery?
- How can current policy aims and interventions be consolidated and reinforced?
- Where can resources be targeted efficiently and effectively to ensure highest impact?
- How can Norway assist to ensure that institutional capacity is built to design, implement and monitor services that the government delivers?
Within all areas there will also be an emphasis on promoting regional development and cooperation.
(i) Democracy/Human Rights/Peace and Security
Strong links have been developed over the past years in the are of securing peace, human rights and democracy in South Africa, as well as in the region, in particular with players within the NGO sector and civil society and with research institutions. There is still a need for individuals and organisations that are able to promote respect for political pluralism and a democratic culture, as well as promoting government accountability and the strengthening of pro-poor participation and policies. Norway will continue to support this form of involvement, with a special emphasis on South African NGOs and institutions at national level.
(ii) Higher Education and Research
There is extensive on-going collaboration between Norwegian and South Africa universities and research institutions, both funded by development cooperation funds and from other sources. This collaboration is still developing and finding its form. South Africa's National Plan for Higher Education, which provides the framework for the restructuring and transformation of this sector, is in the process of being implemented. Continued support to the implementation of the National Plan, and activities that stimulate research and university/student collaboration between the two countries will be given priority.
(iii) Environment and Natural Resources Management
During the last six years there has been strong cooperation between South Africa and Norway at both policy and institutional level on a broad range of issues aimed at increasing capacity at national, provincial and local levels of Government within the sector. Strengthening of strategic interaction between the two countries on the international arena is also an important aspect. There is a clear commitment on both sides to continue this collaboration both within the environment fields and within the field of living marine resources.
(iv) Energy
The energy sector plays a vital role in both countries. Norwegian support has played an important role in assisting the evolving policy and legislative framework for petroleum and electricity sub-sectors. These processes will not be completed by 2004 and should therefore continue for a few more years. However, in order to further focus the Norwegian - South Africa development programme, the sector will be phased out during the next cooperation period 2005-2009. Limited technical cooperation, with special emphasis on alternative sources of energy, may continue beyond this period.
In addition to the main areas mentioned above, cooperation in the following areas will take place through separate funding facilities:
Arts and Culture
Cultural exchange and collaboration between the two countries is wide and far-reaching and funded from a number of sources. Maintaining and strengthening cultural links is important in building relations between two countries. Joint funding of specific activities should be developed.
Civil Society
Cooperation between South African and Norwegian civil society organisations will continued to be supported. Activities aimed at tackling HIV/Aids will be given high priority as well as efforts to consolidate the democratic transition of South Africa and eradicating poverty. Norwegian NGOs have a considerable amount of expertise in developing civil society institutions and the cooperation would also contribute to establishing long term relations between the two countries. People-to-people cooperation should be encouraged, including development cooperation between local authorities in both countries. Specific adjusted criteria for support through the Norwegian NGOs should be developed, including an appropriate annual funding level. Sufficient coordinating mechanisms should also be established. This should include cooperation with the Norwegian Volunteer Service (Fredskorpset). It is important to note that the South African government recognises the need for a strong civil society and in some instances, contracts civil society organisations as implementing agents for government initiatives.
Private Sector Development
More efforts are needed to increase the collaboration between Norway and South Africa within private sector development and commercial cooperation. Economic development and employment generation are fundamental to reducing poverty. The use of NORAD's global facilities for private sector development will be encouraged, and Norway will consult with the Government of South Africa regarding the profile and priorities of this cooperation.
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Regional Integration
South Africa plays a dynamic role in shaping the development of the region and the African continent. South Africa increasingly participates in the development of NEPAD, which is seen as an expression of African renaissance with the vision of developing a new, progressive and modernised Africa. Norwegian and South African development cooperation should support the overall ambitions included in NEPAD, not least the African Peer Review Mechanism. Regional and continental development cooperation should be related to initiatives and policy decisions with the NEPAD framework. In many areas sustainable development and poverty reduction require regional solutions within several areas, and the cooperation between Norway and South Africa should also be guided by regional needs and opportunities. Within all the main sectors mentioned above, the possibility of including regional (continental) aspects and initiatives should be explored. In addition other regional activities based in South Africa, but with a clear regional ownership will be considered for support. Decisions will be guided by Norwegian policies for regional development cooperation, by priorities in the region and due considerations to South Africa's role in the region.
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Commitments outside the Main Areas
As a general rule support outside the main areas will be discontinued after termination of the exiting agreements.
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Programme Resources and Administration
The time frame for these guidelines is five years. Norway is committed to providing a total of NOK 250 mill. for the bilateral cooperation in the five year period. South African contribution will be decided on within each area of collaboration. Additional resources will be made available through separate funding facilities (commercial, cultural, NGO allocations, Norwegian Volunteer Service etc.), as well as additional funding for regional projects.
Coordination will be ensured between different Norwegian government channels of development cooperation with South Africa, i.e. the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NORAD, Norfund and the Norwegian Volunteer Service (Fredskorpset). Norway will support South Africa's efforts to coordinate and prioritise donor collaboration. With reference to OECD/DAC's good practice papers on harmonising donor practices for effective delivery, Norway will also support South Africa's efforts to develop new modes of cooperation to improve effectiveness and reduce transaction costs (i.e. sector wide approaches, budget support to specific sectors, common donor funded programmes etc).
Monitoring and review of the implementation of these guidelines will be subject to regular development cooperation consultations between the two countries. Norway will support South Africa's efforts to strengthen outcome-orientated systems of monitoring, review and evaluation and to develop a culture that incorporates results in the dialogue, learning and change processes. The Norwegian/South African development cooperation will have clear objectives and targets, and be monitored regularly. Specific agreements will serve as instruments for dialogue, performance measurements and control.
The period reflected in these guidelines, 2005-2009, will be used for the parties to jointly explore and lay the foundation for a more sustainable relationship beyond 2009.