Lamola said South Africa stands at a 'crossroads of history.'
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) Minister Ronald Lamola says South Africa’s approach will continue to be non-aligned in a world heightened with uncertainty, especially on the African continent.
Lamola made the remarks at the African Peace and Security Dialogue, hosted by the Thabo Mbeki Foundation in Magaliesburg, Gauteng, on Thursday.
Heightened uncertainty
The minister said South Africa stands at a “crossroads of history.”
“In the current world of heightened uncertainty and the return of dangerous might-makes-right policies, new possibilities may emerge, with pronounced risks.
Yet we come from the vantage point that risks could be turned into both opportunities and promise, if only nations could swap confrontation with co-operation. This is not the time for despondency, we dare say,” Lamola said.
Geopolitical tensions
Lamola said that in the current world of heightened uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and trade wars, the US’s unilateral tariffs have been a contributing factor.
“The natural question that will arise is what does it mean to be non-aligned in these heightened geopolitical tensions. In our country, some have even suggested that we should just dance to the tune of the US due to the impact of the tariffs on our economy, ignoring that the tariffs are not a uniquely South African phenomenon.
“Our approach will continue to be based on a trinity of principles: Progressive Internationalism, Pan-Africanism, and Non-Alignment. These principles are the backbone of what has made post- apartheid South Africa,” he said.
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African agenda
Addressing delegates from across the continent, Lamola reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to the African Agenda, calling for home-grown solutions to the continent’s escalating conflicts and political instability.
Lamola said non-alignment is not neutrality.
Peace
He said all stakeholders, including civil society organisations, must also be given an opportunity to contribute to peace processes.
“It is not a passive watching from the sidelines. But true non-alignment is the active, principled assertion of our right to think for ourselves, and be not just the subject and objects of others’ agendas. Instead, it is the shaping of our own agendas.
“As the adage goes: nothing about us without us! While we welcome and are supportive of initiatives by the US and Qatar, among others, we stress the vital need for African initiatives to be recognised and taken seriously,” Lamola said.
Lamola said South Africa’s non-alignment gives the country the courage to say “no” to any power, East or West, whose demands will render “South Africa a colonial outpost.”
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