REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, CAPE TOWN -- South Africa will continue to be a liberated zone and a friend of the Palestinian people, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.

Zuma was speaking after meeting with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in Cape Town. Abbas was on a working visit to strengthen socio-political ties as well as trade and economic relations between South Africa and Palestine.

The two leaders held bilateral talks on a broad range of issues, including the current initiatives aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestine stand-off, in particular the postponed Paris Middle East Conference, also known as the French Initiative, which was initially scheduled for May 30, 2016.

Abbas also briefed Zuma on efforts at Intra-Palestine reconciliation and progress towards elections and the formation of a government of national unity.

The visit enabled the two sides to further gain a better understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian situation and also to probe, to get more details of the French Initiative as a mechanism to resolve the longstanding Middle East impasse as well as to hear whether there was any role that South Africa could play as proposed Abbas, Zuma said.

Abbas told Zuma that there was some progress towards Palestinian elections and a National Unity Government, South African presidential spokesperson Bongani Ngqulunga said.

Abbas' visit took place at a time of heightened tension between Palestinians and Israelis, increased construction of illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian lands, and escalating frustration among Palestinians due to lack of visible progress on the Middle East Peace Process.

Abbas has visited South Africa twice over the past two years. He undertook a state visit to South Africa in November 2014 and also attended the African Union Summit in June 2015 in Johannesburg.

South Africa and Palestine enjoy cordial relations that date back to the days of the Anti-Apartheid struggle. South Africa recognized the State of Palestine in 1995 and was among the more than 200 states that voted for the hoisting of the Palestinian National flag at the UN headquarters.

Since 1995, South Africa and Palestine have signed a number of bilateral agreements anchored on the Joint Commission of Cooperation that was established in 1995.

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