Elaborating on South Africa’s foreign policy at the weekend, President Cyril Ramaphosa made it clear he was not projecting “any particular country or bloc of countries as the enemy” when he declared Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin and his countrymen “valuable friends and allies”.
“Similarly, as a country that has no enemies, South Africa regards the members of BRICS as friends,” a statement issued by The Presidency said in obvious response to an attack by co-government of national unity (GNU) Cabinet minister John Steenhuisen. The Democratic Alliance (DA) leader distanced him and his party from Ramaphosa’s reported quote of Russia being a valuable ally and friend. The remark was apparently made during a meeting of the two BRICS members.
Ramaphosa’s 800 plus word statement notes, in part, under his leadership South Africa has been steadfast in maintaining its commitment to active non-alignment. “South Africa has resisted pressure to align with any one of the global powers or with influential blocs of nations in their pursuit of power contestations that are unfolding in countries across the globe.”
The President observed during his foreign policy address that, “during the ‘Cold War’, the stability and sovereignty of many African countries was undermined because of their alignment with the major powers. This experience has convinced us of the need to seek strategic partnerships with other countries rather than be dominated by any other country.”
“While some of our detractors prefer overt support for their political and ideological choices, we will not be drawn into a contest between global powers. Instead, our country strives to work with all countries for global peace and development.
“It is this resolute adherence to the policy of non-alignment and to the prescripts of the Freedom Charter which informed our constitution that South Africa continues to contribute towards the attainment of world peace and silencing the guns on our continent.”
