PRETORIA, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane held talks on Friday with the visiting U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton in the presidential house in the country's administrative capital Pretoria.

    Hillary Clinton arrived in South Africa on Thursday night on the second leg of her seven-nation trip across Africa. It is her first visit to South Africa since her appointment as Secretary of State in January 2009.

    The two counterparts talked about issue of consolidating the already sound bilateral relationship between the two countries with a particular view of establishing high-level diplomatic contact between South Africa and the U.S..

    The discussions also focused on establishment of a structured Bilateral Mechanism aimed at regulating existing bilateral, political and economic relations between the two countries, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the support for the Consolidation of the African Agenda.

    Collaboration in the fight against communicable diseases, including tuberculosis, HIV and AIDS was also included.

    According to the schedule, Clinton will meet business leaders and former president Nelson Mandela Friday afternoon before going to Duran for talks with South African President Jacob Zuma.