Ambassadors call for trade expansion to SA

CAPE TOWN - Ambassadors from Ecuador, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Latvia, Mongolia, Seychelles and Sri Lanka presented their credentials to President Jacob Zuma at a ceremony at Tuynhuys in Cape Town on Tuesday.

“The government of Ecuador hopes that the embassy in Pretoria can facilitate an increasing contact between our two countries in cultural affairs, trade and investment, technical co-operation and social development programmes,” Ecuador’s ambassador Jose Valencia told Zuma.

Valencia said he hoped his country’s new embassy in Pretoria would “foster a mutually beneficial relationship with South Africa”.

The ambassador to Ivory Coast, Zogoe Herve-Brice Abie, told Zuma his country was “progressively and surely” rising from a political crisis that was “imposed on her”.

“The country is advancing surely towards peace,” he said.

“We are irreversibly nearing the general elections which will put a total end to the crisis in our country.”

The conflict-ridden west African country has been under mounting pressure in recent months to hold delayed presidential elections.

The other ambassadors to present their credentials included Dharmasena Wijesinghe of Sri Lanka, Lee Ocran of Ghana, Raimonds Jansons of Latvia, Joseph Nourrice of Seychelles and Bulgaa Altaangerel of Mongolia.

- Sapa