South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation Director General Zane Dangor says the Senior Officials Meetings will also reflect on international issues with the view to continue aligning policy positions and strengthening cooperation in multilateral fora between the two sister countries.

This can be achieved by enhancing advocacy for the self-determination of the people of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as well as providing systematic support in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"We need to revisit and implement the declarations and commitments made during the SADC solidarity conference with Western Sahara, which Namibia and South Africa cohosted with SADC. To this effect, we renew our call for the current and urgent implementation of all UN General Assembly resolutions as well as those taken within the AU with the aim of free and fair elections in Western Sahara. Similarly, the state of Palestine deserves to co-exist with the state of Israel in line with UN resolutions, so we will continue to provide systematic diplomatic support at the multilateral, regional, and bilateral levels, acting both as a catalyst and amplifier for the Palestinian course."