Official visit of the delegation of the National Council of Provinces of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa headed by the Chairperson Mr Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu to the Republic of Belarus June 17 — 22, 2007 at the invitation of the Council of the Republic National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus the first official visit of the delegation of the National Council of Provinces of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa (NCP) headed by the NCP Chairperson Mr Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu took place. 
Within the visit Mr Mahlangu met with the President of the Republic of Belarus H.E. Mr A.Lukashenko, leaders of the Council of the Republic and the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Mr S.Martynov, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Mr M.Myasnikovich. The delegation also visited the Belarusian National Technical University, the Belarusian Chamber of  Commerce and Industry, the Republican Unitary Enterprise “Minsk Tractor Works” and the Republican Unitary Industrial Enterprise “Belarus Automobile Plant”.
Signing of the Arrangement on co-operation between the Council of the Republic National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus and the National Council of Provinces of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa on June 18, 2007 became one of the main outcomes of the visit. The document outlines the fundamental principles of bilateral inter-parliamentary co-operation aimed at promoting wide range of relations. The Arrangement also establishes the procedure for interaction of the committees of the Council of the Republic and the National Council of Provinces, delegation and information exchange as well as the interplay in the inter-parliamentary organisations, particularly, the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
At the meeting of the Chairman Council of the Republic National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Mr G.Novitsky with the delegation it was noted that  the inter-parliamentary co-operation between the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of South Africa had been successfully developing. The tendency for concurrence of positions on international agenda issues concerning fair world order based on multipolar development and universally recognized principles of international law has been traced. Discussing the economic  relations of the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of South Africa the parties agreed that the trade and economic avenues allowed predicting the rise in mutual trade. The co-operation in the educational sphere was marked to be promising. A special note at the meeting was made to the establishment of the parliamentary dimension of the Non-Aligned Movement. It was stated that the Parliaments of both countries would continue their active work in this direction.
The discussion of the Belarus-South Africa inter-parliamentary co-operation and political dialogue progress was continued at the meetings of the delegation with the Chairperson of the House of Representatives National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Mr V.Konoplev and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Mr S.Martynov. The main trends  of political interaction both at bilateral level and at international fora, including the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement were discussed along with issues of trade, economic and humanitarian co-operation.
Special attention was paid to the development of Belarus—South Africa interplay in the spheres of education, science and technology. The practical application of the achievements of South African experts in lignite processing became the main subject of the negotiations of the delegation with the Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Mr M.Myasnikovich. The parties discussed the project of creating a joint venture in this sphere with a total cost of 700 mln. US dollars. The South African party was also interested in industrial diamond processing and water purification technologies developed by Belarusian scientists.  During the visit to the Belarusian National Technical University (BNTU) the parliamentary delegation of the Republic of South of  Africa was acquainted with the system of industrial technicians training. Our guests from South Africa appreciated the study process level in BNTU and put forward a proposal to consider the possibility of South African students training in it.
The prospects for trade and economic co-operation of the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of South Africa were discussed at the meeting in the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The South African parliamentarians also made acquainted with the production of the Republican Unitary Enterprise “Minsk Tractor Works” and the Republican Unitary Industrial Enterprise “Belarus Automobile Plant”.
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