Africa-Press – South-Africa. ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has emphasised the need for the South African government to use its position to advance the lives of many by restoring and rebuilding its diplomatic ties with various states worldwide.
During a Tuesday foreign policy panel with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Mashaba presented the five pillars – including human rights and diplomatic and trade relations – ActionSA envisions for the country, which he said could improve SA’s foreign policy.
“South Africa should be a responsible participant in global bodies and utilise these institutions to promote humanity’s global interests. We should also serve as a champion for the region, the continent, and the developing world and work towards a fair global system, he said.
Mashaba, however, expressed shame and disappointment, saying that after the country became a democracy, the government had the opportunity to make a difference and “address all governments with the miracle of the Constitution adopted by this country”.
“We really missed an opportunity. The entire African continent looked to South Africa to free up the entire African continent. That is why the political leadership since 1994 has been in all the international policy.”
Mashaba added that for Ubuntu to be achieved, the acceptance and application of laws of the country had to be respected by all within its borders, adding: “We need to continue inviting people of the world to come to SA, but people must come here legally and when you are in our country, respect our laws.”
Panelist Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, from the South African Institute for International Affairs, noted that factors such as credibility, order and reputation were important when dealing with international affairs.
She said the world viewed South Africa based on how the government tackled domestic issues, such as corruption, and how it showed accountability and leadership.
Sidiropoulos said:
Describing the complexities and changes in the “geopolitical landscape”, she said that in the country’s quest to trade with countries it could get the most “advantage” from, it was essential for it to navigate geopolitical rivalries such as Russia-Ukraine.
“The world is more complex certainly in terms of its challenges, but also in terms of its countries. In terms of how we interact with other countries in the world and actors, it has to be quite fluid and flexible to reflect the different types of issues that we need to handle, and work together.”
Reflecting on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Sidiropoulos touched on the significance of the war.
“The difference here is not so much that we are driven by the rhetoric of the North and the narrative of the North on Ukraine, but the fact is, Ukraine is the tipping point on some of the fundamental principles of the world order post-1945,” she said.
“As developing countries, as global South but not major powers, we need to be thinking, what are the values we want and the principles we want to define, that should define this post-Ukraine order.”
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