A delegation of 13 members of the Department of Defence is jetting to the US to attend the 19th RSA-US Defence Committee Meeting in Washington from June 7-8 to engage the US Department of Defence on a range of military-to-military issues.
A DELEGATION of 13 members of the Department of Defence is jetting to the US to attend the 19th RSA-US Defence Committee Meeting in Washington from June 7-8 to engage the US Department of Defence on a range of military-to-military issues.
According to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), the delegation will be led by the Acting Secretary for Defence, Dr Thobekile Gamede, as the head of department, supported by the Chief of Staff of the South African National Defence Force, Lieutenant-General Michael Ramantswana, and senior officials and members of the defence force.
The SANDF says that among the issues that will be discussed will be the optimisation of the work of the Acquisition and Technology Work Group, which aims to explore priority areas for possible future co-operation in landward technology, aerospace technology, maritime technology, and support technology.
“The forum will also delve into the work of the Operations Work Group to discuss military events like future military exercises, symposium opportunities for both military establishments, as well as future military and key leadership engagements,” read an SANDF statement.
The SANDF says that the 19th Defence Committee meeting is the continuation and consolidation of deliberations on a range of issues that were discussed in the previous Defence Committee meeting in 2019, when the two departments met.
“Furthermore, to review all the decisions and implementation thereof, and chart a way forward for further decisions. The 18th RSA-USA Defence Committee was hosted by South Africa in Pretoria in the year 2019.”
“The bilateral relationship between the RSA and the US was formalised with the signing of an agreement in 1995, which provided for the establishment of an RSA-US Defence Committee, and the defence committee was subsequently established on July 29, 1997, with the signing of the Terms of Reference by former Minister Thandi Modise and Secretary Cohen to be held every 12 months alternately in the RSA and USA.”
The statement further said that the Defence Committee remains an immense and consistent forum of bilateral co-operation between South Africa and the US and has evolved over the past years to constitute multiple work groups.
“The RSA-USA military has enjoyed a range of engagements and exchanges at various levels and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future,” added the statement.
