HARARE, March 17 (Chinese media) -- South Africa's treasury is considering a financial assistance package to Zimbabwe, according to reports by The Herald on Tuesday.
It is unclear how much South Africa's contribution to the package would be, but Zimbabwe has previously estimated that it needs at least two billion U.S. dollars in the short term, the daily newspaper said.
Speaking after the third session of the Zimbabwe-South Africa Joint Permanent Commission meeting in Victoria Falls on Monday, SA Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said Harare's financial rescue proposal was being considered.
She said the proposal was now with her country's treasury to see what is possible on SA's part. "But, it is also wider than just SA. There are areas where the rest of the Southern African Development Community can chip in," said Minister Dlamini-Zuma.
In March 2007, a SADC Extraordinary Summit held in Tanzania resolved that the regional grouping should help Zimbabwe revive its economy, which has been hamstrung by illegal Western economic sanctions.
In an effort to stimulate Zimbabwe's economy, SA pledged at the joint commission meeting co-operation with its neighbor in 17 areas ranging from mining to immigration policies.
The two nations are to set up a joint working committee on power generation and distribution and Zimbabwe is set to benefit from SA's expertise in mining as well as the Kimberley Process certification for the country's diamonds.
Zimbabwe's Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said they looked forward to benefit from SA as Zimbabwe was relatively new in the area of diamond mining.
A committee will also be set up to look into how Zimbabwe can benefit from tourism growth ahead of the 2010 World Cup.
The two sides exchanged views on measures to strengthen economic co-operation. "In this regard, the two sides discussed measures to support the recovery of Zimbabwe's productive sectors including opening of lines of credit, export credit insurance, spatial development initiatives and trade facilitation measures," a communique issued at the end of the meeting said.
It said the two sides also agreed to finalize negotiations on the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, the Memorandum on Economic Cooperation and the Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement.
Speaking on arrival for the Third Session of the Joint Permanent Commission for Co-operation meeting on Sunday, Minister Dlamini-Zuma said South Africa was keen to see Zimbabwe's inclusive government succeed.
Minister Dlamini-Zuma co-chaired the meeting with her Zimbabwean counterpart Minister Mumbengegwi.
She said South Africa was also determined to ensure that Zimbabwe's economy begins to pick up.
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