South African President Thabo Mbeki will hold political and economic talks with his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush in Washington on Friday, the South African Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday.

The discussions would be conducted in the context of South Africa's promotion of north-south cooperation in support of the African agenda through, among others, the Group of Eight ( industrialized countries), the ministry spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said.

Also on the agenda were conflict resolution and peacekeeping in Africa, the World Trade Organization negotiations and South Africa 's non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.

Mamoepa said the economic relationship between the two countries was "strong" with total trade approaching 60 billion rand (8.45 billion U.S. dollars) with an annual increase of about 11 percent.

There was continuing United States interest in investment in South African industry and expansion of the trade relationship, presently in South Africa's favor, he said.

The United States was also focusing on stimulating economic growth and small, medium and micro enterprise development through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

USAID activities would reach more than 827,700 people in 2006 with capital investment of 40 million rand, said Mamoepa.

Source: Xinhua