South Africa, Palestine sign MoU on governance cooperation

South Africa and Palestine on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on deepening bilateral governance cooperation. The MoU was signed by South Africa's Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Lechesa Tsenoli and his Palestinian counterpart Saed Al Koni in Pretoria where the Palestinian official is on a visit from Feb. 16. The MoU was aimed at providing a framework for the two countries to cooperate in the sectors of the local governance and municipal development like finances, amalgamation and restructuring. "The MoU is a symbolic representation of a step towards building a better world. It will offer us an opportunity to learn from each other," said Lechesa Tsenoli. "We view this as a great opportunity for our people, especially the youth to be skilled and trained." "The MoU will lay the foundation not only for the government–to- government exchange, but also for people–to–people," said the South African minister. South Africa has maintained good relations with Palestine since its ruling party African National Congress established close relations with the Palestine Liberation Movement during their national liberation struggle. South Africa established diplomatic relations with the state of Palestine on Feb. 15, 1995 after the apartheid ended in 1994. Saed Al Koni said Palestine is enjoying the deep-rooted relationship with South Africa, and Palestine admires South Africa' s democratic institutions which have grown in leaps and bounds since 1994. "We hope the MoU will benefit us from your experience of building a well-capacitated local government," said he. The Palestinian delegation led by Saed Al Koni will end its visit on Saturday, which is part of the efforts to strengthen bilateral relations by the Palestinian government.