MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina/South Africa sign wide ranging defense development agreement

South African Defense Minister Lindiwe Sisulu

Argentina and South Africa signed on Saturday on board a South African navy vessel docked in Buenos Aires a wide ranging agreement on defense development and military co-operation.

“South Africa and Argentine strengthened their military partnership by signing an agreement to exchange technology, innovation, military health development and participation on joint training exercises and partnership for search and rescue operations in the Southern Atlantic Ocean” according to an official statement from South Africa’s defense ministry.

“The two countries also agreed to explore areas of defense-industrial co-operation, in the aviation, avionics, command-control-communications, air-to-air missile technology, grenade launches and maritime environments.”

The agreement was signed by South African Defense Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and her Argentine counterpart Dr Nilda Garré onboard the SAS Drakensberg, which was in Argentina to participate in the naval exercise ATLASUR VIII with the Argentine, Brazilian and Uruguayan navies in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

“This was an achievement by the navies of the Southern hemisphere countries that ensured continued co-operation in maritime security and to gauge their readiness to address the ongoing global security challenges they face”.

“The most obvious of these are terrorism, piracy in the high seas, proliferation of nuclear weapons among rogue countries, biological and chemical ware, cyber-warfare, resource scarcity and climate change. These threats present major challenges to the deployment of our Armed Forces. Deterrence is not enough. Our Armed Forces must be able to anticipate and act swiftly to address these threats whenever they arise”, said Minister Sisulu.

”The South African Defense Industries are technologically highly advanced and diversified presenting the Argentine Ministry of Defense with a vast range of defense systems required for its modernization programs,” she said.

The SAS Drakensberg was supporting the submarine Challotte Maxeke in the joint exercise. The naval vessel and the submarine departed for South Africa on Sunday.