BRANCH:AFRICA BILATERAL

ORIENTATION WORKSHOP

Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on International Relations

30 July 2014

CONTENTS

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• Situational Analysis

• SA Vision for Africa

• SA Missions in Africa

• Non-residential accreditations

• Structured Bilateral Mechanisms per Quarter

• High-Level Visits per Quarter

Situational Analysis

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POLITICAL

• The African continent is larger than the combined land mass of China, the United States, India, Europe and Argentina – fragmented into 54 diverse nations, with often arbitrary borders inherited from colonialism

• The African continent has seen a significant advancement in democracy and good governance as demonstrated by the increasing number of credible elections. However, there continues to be challenges such as violent contestation of elections, unconstitutional change of government and endemic corruption.

Situational Analysis (cont.)

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ECONOMIC

• The political stability that has been witnessed and the economic growth is beginning to impact positively on the socio-economic conditions of the people of the continent.

• However, economic growth and business prospects are markedly different from country to country

• Infrastructure has been identified as key to sustaining the continent’s growth prospects

Situational Analysis (cont.)

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ECONOMIC

• There has been greater effort in integrating the various economies in Africa through negotiation of inter-regional blocks, e.g. COMESA, EAC and SADC Treaty. The African Union is also asserting its role in the political and economic sphere through launching of peace-keeping missions such as AMISOM and initiatives such as NEPAD.

• Language and geographical proximity have positive impact on the ease of doing business

• Technological innovation/adaptation is playing a major role in the advancement of the people of the continent through increasing their interconnectivity using mobile technology and providing opportunities for international collaborations such as the SKA.

Situational Analysis (cont.)

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SECURITY

• 1 billion inhabitants – culturally, ethnically, religiously and linguistically diverse

• A significant threat to stability on the continent is the rise of terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and the LRA.

• The engagement of South Africa on the continent shall be supportive of peace and security in the region as stability of the continent is of paramount importance to both the economic and social development of South Africa and the African continent

SA’s Vision for Africa

• South Africa’s foreign policy is driven by the vision to achieve an African Continent that is peaceful, democratic, non-racial, non-sexist, united, prosperous and which contributes to a world that is just and equitable. South Africa pursues this said vision informed by its national interest and the values of Ubuntu.

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SA Missions in Africa

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SA Missions in Africa

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SA Missions in Africa

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NORTH AFRICA NORTH AFRICA 66

SA Missions in Africa

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CENTRAL AFRIC

A

6

SA Missions in Africa

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SO

UT

HE

RN

AF

RIC

A

12

SA Missions in Africa

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EAST AFRICA

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SA non-residential accreditation

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STRUCTURED BILATERAL ENGAGEMENTS

• Structured Bilateral Mechanisms provide an important vehicle for the strengthening of political and economic partnerships with the various regions of the world.

• They are bilateral meetings that take place at various levels: from the highest level of Heads of State/Government to the level of Senior Officials.

• They are variously called National Commissions (BNCs), Joint Commissions for Cooperation (JCCs), Partnership Forum, Dialogue Forum, Political Consultations etc. The meetings also usually alternate between capitals.

• They usually take place in an agreed format and time-frame pursuant to a bilateral agreement, communiqué and/or other high-level decisions. They usually comprise sub-committees or technical committees dealing with specific issues or sectors of mutual interest in pursuance of South Africa’s foreign policy and national priorities.

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STRUCTURED BILATERAL MECHANISMS: 1ST QUARTER

JCC•Kenya (incoming)•Swaziland (outgoing)•Republic of Congo (outgoing)

Political Consultations•Namibia (incoming)•DRC (incoming)

Senior Officials Meeting (SOM)•Kenya (incoming)•Mauritius (outgoing)•Seychelles (outgoing

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STRUCTURED BILATERAL MECHANISMS: 2ND QUARTER

JCC•Zimbabwe (outgoing)•Zambia (outgoing)•Benin (outgoing)

BNC•Botswana (outgoing)•Namibia (incoming)

Senior Officials Meeting (SOM)•Madagascar (outgoing)•Cameroon (outgoing)•Ghana

Tripartite Mechanism (Angola, DRC, RSA)•Angola (outgoing)

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STRUCTURED BILATERAL MECHANISMS: 3RD QUARTER

JCC•Uganda (outgoing)•Malawi (outgoing)•Equatorial Guinea (incoming)•Burkina Faso (outgoing)•Guinea Conakry(outgoing)

BNC•Tanzania (outgoing)•DRC (outgoing)•Nigeria (outgoing)

JBCC•Lesotho (outgoing)

 

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STRUCTURED BILATERAL MECHANISMS: 3RD QUARTER (CONTINUED)

JMC

•Ethiopia (outgoing)

Diplomatic Consultations

•Uganda (incoming)

Senior Officials Meeting (SOM)

•Uganda (incoming)

•Guinea Conakry (outgoing)

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STRUCTURED BILATERAL MECHANISMS: 4TH QUARTER

JCC

•Guinea Bissau (incoming)

•Tunisia (Incoming)

JCBC

•Cape Verde (inaugural, incoming)

BNC

•Nigeria (Incoming SIC)

Political Consultations

•Sudan (outgoing)

•South Sudan (outgoing)

Senior Officials Meeting (SOM)

•Burundi (incoming)

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STRUCTURED BILATERAL1ST QUARTER ACHIEVEMENTS

• SA/Republic of Congo JCC held on 16 April in Brazzaville to improve cooperation on SMMEs, energy, agriculture and mining.

• SA/Namibia Political Consultations held on 16 April in Pretoria to assess the status of implementation of decisions taken in the previous BNC, ahead of the planned BNC.

• SA/Seychelles Senior Officials Meeting held from 13-14 April in Pretoria to agree on the proposed date for the JCC scheduled for the second Quarter.

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ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY INITIATIVES1ST QUARTER ACHIEVEMENTS

• Missions have submitted their economic diplomacy programmes to be undertaken for the year.

• Business Units are actively involved in the monitoring of Mission performance in relation to their economic diplomacy targets.

• A total of 19 trade and investment activities will be undertaken during the financial year.

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HIGH-LEVEL VISITS: 1ST QUARTER

• Mozambique (incoming State Visit)

• Republic of Congo (outgoing State Visit)

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HIGH-LEVEL VISITS: 2ND QUARTER

• Madagascar (outgoing Ministerial)

• Somalia (incoming Ministerial)

• Cameroon (outgoing Ministerial)

• Gabon (outgoing Ministerial)

• Nigeria (outgoing State Visit)

• Benin (outgoing Working Visit)

• Liberia (incoming Ministerial)

• Libya (outgoing-DM)

• Libya (incoming Prime Minister)

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HIGH-LEVEL VISITS: 3RD QUARTER

• Kenya (outgoing State Visit)

• Cameroon (outgoing visit by Deputy President)

• Ghana (incoming Presidential Working Visit)

• Cote d’Ivoire (incoming State Visit)

• Burkina Faso (outgoing Ministerial)

• Gambia (incoming State Visit)

• Mauritania (incoming Ministerial)

• Algeria (outgoing Ministerial)

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HIGH-LEVEL VISITS: 4TH QUARTER

• Eritrea (outgoing Ministerial)

• Sierra Leone (outgoing Ministerial)

• Liberia (Incoming State Visit)

• Tunisia (outgoing Presidential)

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THANK YOU!

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