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Sub Saharan Africa
South Africa |
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Country information
International relations
South Africa rapidly reintegrated into the international community after the isolation of the apartheid years. It was readmitted to the Commonwealth in 1994 and hosted the annual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Durban in November 1999. South Africa was Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) from August 1998 to March 2003. It hosted the inaugural meeting of the African Union (AU) in July 2002 and was the first Chair. It is a key member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). South Africa joined other African and Asian countries in signing the New Africa Asia Strategic Partnership in Jakarta on 24 April 2005. The Chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China was held by South Africa during 2006. South Africa was a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council from 2007-2008. Its position on United Nations Reform is tied to the Common African position – 'The Ezulwini Consensus'.South Africa's foreign policy is focussed on conflict resolution in Africa, and developing partnerships with other like-minded nations to present the South's case in multinational fora. It has backed its political activities by providing troops for peace support operations in Burundi, Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo and mediated on behalf of the AU in the conflict in Cote d'Ivoire. The outcome was a peace agreement signed in Pretoria on 6 April 2005; South Africa remains involved in international efforts to resolve the situation.
South Africa has been reluctant to speak out on Zimbabwe, largely because of historic loyalties. In early 2007, South Africa's president Mbeki was charged by the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) with mediating in Zimbabwean politics, in preparation for the 2008 elections. Following the MDC’s withdrawal from the second round of the elections due to ZANU(PF)-perpetrated violence against their supporters, SADC continued to negotiate a power-sharing agreement. Under pressure from South Africa, Tsvangirai agreed to sign the agreement in February 2009. SADC remains responsible for ensuring the agreement is implemented fairly, and for providing initial financial support to the new government. The African Union (AU) has endorsed SADC’s lead on Zimbabwe. The South Africans in particular are keen to see the power-sharing agreement work. Not only did President Mbeki act as the broker between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, but there are up to three million Zimbabwean refugees still living in South Africa.
Southern Africa Development Community
African Union
Global Terrorism: South Africa responded quickly to the attacks on 11 September 2001. The Government condemned terrorism without equivocation, offering the US humanitarian support and the full co-operation of its security agencies. It opened a Financial Intelligence Centre in November 2003, which considerably strengthened its anti-money laundering capacity. In 2003, South Africa joined the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body that sets the global standards in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. South Africa is also a member of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG), the only FATF-style regional body in Africa.
New Partnership for Africa's Development (NePAD)
See the key theme area on this website: NePAD: New Partnership for Africa's Development.
UK-South Africa bilateral relations
Bilateral relations and links between the UK and South Africa are strong, covering fields as diverse as defence, trade liberalisation, development, and HIV/AIDS. This is underlined by the number of high-level visits in both directions. Visits to South Africa have included:
HM The Queen (State Visits in 1995 & 1999); The Princess Royal (July 2003); Prime Minister Tony Blair (January & November 1999; February 2006); Chancellor Gordon Brown (16-18 January 2005); Foreign Secretary David Miliband (July 2008); HRH The Earl of Wessex (October 2006 and April 2009); Lord Mark Malloch Brown, Minister for Africa, attended President Zuma’s presidential inauguration (May 2009) and met representatives of the new Government while attending the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town (June 2009).
The Prime Minister and President Mbeki met twice in 2003, at a Progressive Government Summit in Hungary October 2004, at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2005, and during the Progressive Governance Summit in South Africa in 2006. Mr Mbeki visited the UK in May 2006 at the end of the UK-South Africa Bilateral Forum. There are regular ministerial visits in both directions.
