The Deputy-Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Ibrahim Ishmael Ibrahim, has urged students of the University of Venda (Univen) to help his department by popularizing the department´s foreign polices.

"We have been transversing from one province to another in an effort to build bridges between our department and various other stakeholders, such as the media, NGOs, CBOs and acadaemia to popularise our foreign policy. We want to ensure that ordinary South Africans can link our country’s domestic priorities with our department of international engagement,” said Ibrahim.

Ibrahim was speaking in the University of Venda’s auditorium, where he addressed more than 1 000 students and academics on the position of South Africa’s United Nation’s resolutions on Libya and the Libyan crisis. Univen has about 600 students who are studying international relations.

According to Ibrahim, the visit to Limpopo was part of Government’s public participation programme. He believes "that Univen has the necessary human resources capital to serve as an engine that drives regional growth and development strategy well beyond the borders of this country."

The principal of Univen, Prof Peter Mbati, said that the university council had approved international relations as one of the degrees they offered, and as such they were ready and looked forward to working with the department of international relations in popularizing the department’s foreign policies.