Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a military co-operation agreement in Pretoria on Friday.

In it, South Africa agreed to help train the new DRC army once all the country's existing forces had been combined into one.

The deal was signed by South Africa's Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota and his DRC counterpart Jean Pierre Ondekane.

"This agreement will regulate defence cooperation between our countries. It will further strengthen mutual cooperation in the field of defence with the aim of maintaining lasting peace and security between our countries," Lekota said.

The two countries have undertaken to formulate procedures for military co-operation between their armed forces, promote co-operation in the training of military personnel and to conduct combined military exercises especially for peacekeeping.

"The exchange of military personnel at all levels will also be encouraged," he said.

The agreement comes shortly after renewed fighting in the eastern parts of the DRC indirectly claimed the lives of two SANDF soldiers who formed part of the United Nations peace keeping force in the DRC (Monuc).

South Africa's new military role will fall outside the ambit of Monuc, as it was the result of a bilateral agreement between the two countries, Lekota said.

South Africa's initial role, it was said, would be to help integrate the numerous fighting bodies into one unified defence force.

Ondekane told reporters the size of the new DRC defence force still had to be determined but said that once it was well trained, the Congolese army would work toward the development of the DRC.

Both ministers believed the agreement, which would include the sale of military equipment to the DRC by South Africa, would hasten the peace process and bring stability to the Great Lakes Region.

"A strong, well-trained army will not only benefit the DRC but its neighbours too," Ondekane said.