Johannesburg - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez was in South Africa on Tuesday for talks with President Thabo Mbeki on strengthening ties between one of the world's largest oil producers and Africa's second-largest consumer of the commodity.

Chavez arrived in South Africa on Monday evening for the three-day visit, his first to the country whose leader, Mbeki, he describes as "my friend."

On the eve of the talks, the South African Foreign Ministry announced the two leaders would sign a major agreement on energy cooperation.

South Africa, Africa's second-largest consumer of oil after Egypt, currently gets most of its oil from the Middle East but is keen to diversify. Venezuela is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter.

Business Day newspaper reported that PetroSA, South Africa's state petroleum company, was considering acquiring an oil-producing asset in Venezuela as well as getting an allocation of crude directly from Venezuela's state-owned PDVSA.

PetroSA is also keen to find new markets for its pioneering gas- to-liquid technology.

Mbeki and Chavez, both proponents of increased South-South cooperation, are also expected to discuss cooperation in the area of trade, armaments, mining and agriculture and international diplomacy.

South Africa and Venezuela are both members of the Non-Aligned Movement and the G-77 group of developing countries plus China.

Both Mbeki and Chavez have also called for reform of the United Nations Security Council, which has no permanent member from either Africa or Latin America. (dpa)