CAPE TOWN, September 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his South African counterpart Thabo Mbeki signed a treaty on friendship and cooperation Tuesday.
The Russian leader is on his first sub-Saharan visit as head of state.
"The sides regard each other as friendly states and will develop partnership relations on the basis of common national interests, ideals of freedom, democracy, equality, commonly accepted principles and norms of international law, and in accordance with the goals and principles of the UN Charter," the treaty says.
According to the treaty, Russia and South Africa intend to maintain constant bilateral dialogue at a high political level, and hold regular consultations at various levels.
The sides confirmed their obligations on the most important multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation agreements, and reasserted their readiness to strengthen the UN's peacekeeping potential.
"The sides will support mutual efforts aimed at developing cooperation with leading regional organizations, including the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Southern African Development Community," the document says.
Russia, as the Group of Eight industrialized nations' current chair nation, highlighted African development this year.
The two countries also emphasized the need to maximize bilateral trade possibilities.
Although South African companies, such as fruit producers and brewer SAB/Miller, which produces several popular brands of beer at a plant in central Russia, made inroads into the Russian market, the Kremlin believes trade could be significantly increased from the 2005 figure of $171 million.
Russia and South Africa agreed to develop cooperation in the energy and transportation sectors, the defense and aerospace industry, the fishing industry, healthcare, culture, sports and tourism.
Three other documents were signed in the presence of the two presidents after their talks in Cape Town.
The head of the Russian Space Agency and the South African minister of science and technology signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in civilian space research.
Officials from the Russian and South African health ministries signed a bilateral agreement on cooperation in healthcare and the medical sciences.
The Russian justice minister and the South African defense minister signed an intergovernmental agreement on the protection of intellectual property rights in military-technical cooperation.
The Russian president is being accompanied on his two-day visit to South Africa by several ministers and a delegation of top Russian businessmen, including Viktor Vekselberg, the head of the Renova Group and one of Russia's richest men, Alexander Nichiporuk, the president of diamond giant Alrosa, and Igor Makarov, the head of the Russia's largest independent natural gas producer, Novatek.
