Ramaphosa outlines foreign policy agenda

SA's ‘principled solidarity with peoples burdened under the yoke of oppression will not waver’, President Cyril Ramaphosa said last week as he expanded on the government of national unity's (GNU) foreign policy. ‘As we strengthen economic diplomacy with our largest trading partners and potential trading partners, we will prioritise the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to increase our exports to the rest of the continent,’ he said. ‘We will do this as part of our foreign policy approach, which promotes peace, security, democracy and development across Africa and advances a more just and inclusive world order.’ In his response to the debate in a joint sitting of Parliament, he said his administration remained committed to a foreign relations policy and outlook that prioritised the achievement of the AU Agenda 2063. News24 reports that he noted that SA's first shipment of products to other African countries under the AfCFTA began in January. ‘We are extremely encouraged by the potential the AfCFTA presents in terms of new markets for SA goods, products and services. We welcome the progress being made towards finalising rules of origin, and towards a Pan-African payment and settlement system,’ Ramaphosa said. He said SA would continue to push for reform of global governance institutions, including the UN Security Council, to give a greater voice to developing countries. ‘We will continue to push for the international financial institutions and the multilateral development banks to be reformed and representative and to provide greater financial and technical support to developing countries to meet their most pressing needs,’ he said.

The Mail & Guardian reports that Ramaphosa also welcomed the finding by the UN’s highest tribunal that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories violated international law as a sign of shifting sentiment on Israeli policy. ‘What this latest ruling indicates is that international momentum against Israel’s continued violations of the rights of the Palestinian people is growing,’ Ramaphosa said. ‘Just as our own struggle for national liberation was eventually won with steady victories, so, too, will the quest for Palestinian statehood be ultimately realised. Our own history and experience demands no less of us.’ As previously reported in Legalbrief Today, the International Court of Justice in an advisory opinion on Friday said Israel must withdraw from occupied Palestinian land ‘as rapidly as possible’, adding that Palestinians were entitled to reparation for unlawful acts.