On 10 July 2018 at the RSA Embassy of the Republic of South Africa in Astana a meeting took place of ISCT Executive Board Chairman Ambassador Ronald Lehman, Executive Board Member Mr. Eddie Maier and the Executive Director Mr. David Cleave with Ms Keitumetsi Seipelo Thandeka Matthews, Ambassador of South Africa to Kazakhstan on matters pertaining to the participation of RSA in ISTC projects in Africa

The meeting was a continuation of the dialogue with the South African Embassy on matters of mutual interest, including ISTC-implemented projects in nuclear safety and in export control. The RSA Ambassador confirmed the interest of Pretoria to engage in interaction with ISTC projects, in particular, the INSC-funded project “Support to Southern African states in nuclear safety and safeguards”. 

The RSA Embassy received a debrief of the current priorities of ISTC, the on-going transition of the organization, the on-going projects in Africa. It was underlined that that under the new ISTC Continuing Agreement third countries that would like to establish a structured cooperation with ISTC are welcome to express an interest and formulate their priorities in the CBRN domain. It was indicated that in addition to the National Nuclear Regulator, with which ISTC has a Memorandum of Cooperation, there are also other RSA institutes interested to provide expertise, such as the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

Ambassador Matthews promised to assist the preparation of an ISTC visit to South Africa to meet potential partners on the ground and receive a better perspective of the existing possibilities for cooperation.

Mr.Kamen Velichkov, ISTC SPM and Diplomatic Advisor and Theo Malherbe, Counsellor, RSA Embassy, also participated in the meeting.