SPEECH BY PRESIDENT MANDELA AT THE BANQUET IN HONOUR OF PRESIDENT CARLOS
SAUL MENEM OF ARGENTINA

Cape Town, 24 February 1995

Your Excellency President Menem,
Ambassadors and High Commissioners,

Honoured Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

I feel deeply honoured to play host to you, Your Excellency, and the
distinguished members of your delegation on this auspicious occasion.

We are proud to welcome you in our country. In support of our struggle for
freedom, your own country took the self-denying step of severing ties with
apartheid South Africa. We hope that you enjoy your visit here. Short as it is,
we are convinced that you will nevertheless sense the mood of a nation liberated
from the bonds of oppression and conflict, and united in determination to
redress the legacy of its past.

Mr. President, you are the first Latin American head of state to pay an
official visit to our country since the inauguration of the rapidly growing
all-round relations between our peoples.

There is much which favours close links between our countries, and which
creates a basis for a partnership of mutual benefit.

As countries on the edge of the South Atlanic, which we share with the
Antartic, we have a common interest in promoting peace and co-operation and the
sustainable use of resources.

As societies securing the consolidation of recently established democracies,
we have much to learn from one another. I have no doubt that the work of our
Constitutional Assembly, which is always eager to benefit from the experience of
other countries, will be able to draw on the manner in which you reviewed your
constitution.

As economies with many characteristics in common and undergoing economic
reform of similar kinds, there are a great number opportunities for mutually
beneficial interchanges of trade and investment. Much of what is developed in
the field of science and technology in our two countries, is appropriate to the
needs of the other.

The rapid increase in trade between our countries in the short period since
South Africa was accepted into the international community, is a firm indicator
of the potential, as are the agreements already made between research
institutions.

The Joint Communique which we signed this morning establishes a framework for
developing our relations in all these areas, as well as others such as culture
and the arts, and tourism. Co-operation in combating rug-trafficking, will
assist both our countries in dealing with this international scourge.

In the development of our relations we look forward in particular to finding
ways in which we can give mutual support to the programmes for sustainable
economic growth which we both have. The consolidation and future stability of
our newly-won democracy will depend sharply on our capacity to translate our
freedom into real changes in the lives of our people.

It is my sincere hope, Mr President, that your visit will go a long way in
cementing bilateral relations between our countries and in bringing South Africa
closer to the Latin American community. We shall continue to hold your hands
firmly across the Atlantic.

May I ask you all to rise and raise your glasses in a toast to the good
relations that exist between Argentine and South Africa and to the continued
good health of His Excellency, President Carlos Saul Menam and the people of
Argentina.