• Home
• | Terms & conditions
• | Contact us

Gauteng, France in partnership

Bongani Mlangeni

06 July 2007

Gauteng and France's Ile-de-France region have renewed an agreement aimed at promoting development of the two highly-urbanised regions and to identify areas of collaboration.

Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa and Ile-de-France President Jean-Paul Huchon signed the new cooperation agreement, which updates a previous agreement signed by the two in 2001.

The Ile-de-France has Paris as its centre and is the most populated region in France, boasting a high skills profile, efficient public transport and an excellent telecommunications network.

"The agreement focuses on Gauteng's priorities to promote economic growth and job creation, build Gauteng as a globally competitive city region and strengthen the capacity of the state as well as Ile de France's commitment to decentralised cooperation, mutually advantageous economic development as well as sustainable development," the Gauteng provincial government said in a statement.

Some of the key areas of cooperation and exchange will include:

• Sports, arts and culture, including major international sporting events such as rugby and cycle tours, street carnivals and the design and development of crafts,
• Tourism promotion and preparations for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, including the welcoming of international delegations, safety and security, marketing and branding and French language courses,
• Transport, including integrated transport infrastructure, transport authorities and metro policing,
• Economic development including research and systems of innovation, promoting the film production sector, small, medium and micro enterprise development and the promotion of clusters,
• Health services including HIV/Aids prevention and behaviour change strategies, medical research and training for nurses, and
• Environmental affairs, including air pollution measurement.

Huchon has welcomed the signing of the new agreement saying Ile-de-France's experiences were not that different from those of Gauteng: "We are happy to discover new programmes and we want to learn from our partners. Some of the problems in Gauteng are the same as in Paris, like crime, security and transport, and we can learn from the Gauteng experience."

"We want to increase contact with South Africa," he said.

A joint committee from the two regions will develop a programme of action to implement the agreement, which will be monitored by the executives of Ile-de-France and Gauteng.

'Ensuring good governance'
During their stay, the French delegation visited the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Newtown to open a new exhibition called Me Games.

The exhibition was constructed by Sci-Bono designs provided by La Cite des Sciences & de I'Industrie in Paris, one of the world's foremost science centres, in cooperation with the Gauteng’s education department.

Haddad said the Ile-de-France government partnered with the Gauteng Provincial Government to ensure education, equality and good governance for all.

"We are proud to be associated with a city which has performed such good work to allow people to explore scientific subjects and allow everyone access to skills,” said Ile-de-France Deputy President Janine Haddad at the launch of the exhibition this week.

"The scientific debate is part of the political debate concerning citizens and we want to assist in mobilising the audience and disseminating information on science to people."

The Ile de France delegation also attended an Aids Consortium graduation ceremony held by the Gauteng Department of Health, where members of non-government organisations graduated after completing courses in capacity building, governance, project management and financial management.

Source: BuaNews