31 May 2007
Nelson Mandela welcomed Tony Blair to the South African capital Johannesburg as the Prime Minister continues his tour of Africa.
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Mr Nelson Mandela:
… that Prime Minister Blair has decided to honour us with a visit on his last trip to Africa. He has been a very good friend of Africa as Prime Minister and I know his commitment to our continent and poverty eradication will continue in his future role.
Prime Minister:
As ever it is an honour and a privilege to stand next to President Mandela and to thank him for everything that he has done in his life, but also for showing that it is possible for things to change. And the reason I am here this week in Africa is because next week we have the G8 Summit, to which South Africa of course will come as part of the G8 Plus 5, and the important thing will be to keep the commitments going on Africa, to recommit to those, and also to make progress on climate change. And in both of those areas it is going to be important to have the support of South Africa. And of course the fact that South Africa is so strong today is in no small measure due to the leadership and courage of Nelson Mandela.