SA, Brazil increase military co-operation
South Africa and Brazil have agreed to increase military to military co-operation in different fields of defence, the defence department said on Thursday.
"The military to military co-operation between the two defence forces is seen as a key development that will benefit both forces in various fields of training and exchange programmes," spokesman Siphiwe Dlamini said in a statement.
The SA National Defence Force and the Brazilian Armed Forces agreed to work together in a three-day inaugural meeting of the Joint Defence Committee held at the Brazilian capital Brasilia from Tuesday until Thursday.
A term of reference for the Joint Defence Committee was signed on how the committee will be managed.
Dlamini said the co-operation would benefit the two countries in, amongst other things, the area of military science, language training (Portuguese) and submarine training.
Further discussions were around exchange of operational experience and participation of SANDF in the 2010 Fifa World Cup as Brazil would be the host for the soccer tournament next year.
"The Brazilian delegation showed keen interest in the management, command and control and co-ordination through the National Joints for events such as the World Cup and others of such magnitude," he said.
Other talks involved defence industry work group.
"Both sides explored the feasibility of co-operation in the development of technology in the areas of missiles, radar, radios and electronic warfare amongst others," said Dlamini.