Cape Town, 13 March 2023 (TDI): After attending the 36th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly of Heads of State & Government held in Addis Ababa, South Africa is co-chairing the Action Coalition on Economic Justice and Rights to work for economic transformation that empowers and benefits women.
President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa added that such engagement and discussions at summits confirm that our country’s fortunes are inextricably linked to our continent’s.
Growth and Development in the continent affect the progress of South Africa. As they open opportunities for trade, investment, and cooperation in areas such as technology and innovation will benefit the country, the President said.
On the other hand, conflict, instability, and economic deprivation in other parts of the continent also affect South Africa.
As South Africa hosts many refugees and asylum seekers from across Africa, President Cyril affirmed the commitment to work collectively with other African Nations to address the challenges.
President Cyril also said, “South Africa is the chair of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council for February 2023. One of the meetings we convened and chaired was on the security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).”
He commented that to stop this conflict, we need to address the root causes of the conflict, among them the illegal exploitation of mineral resources and competition between countries in the Great Lakes region.
Also Read: East African Community mission meeting at DRC
During the AU session, the decision has been taken for the deployment of the East African Community Regional Force to enhance regional peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Furthermore, President Cyril reassured the commitment to use the experience of negotiation, political dialogue, and peacemaking to support people elsewhere on the continent in the grip of conflict and the throes of transition.
In the end, he also added, “Through supporting peace-building efforts and by deepening our bilateral relationships with fellow African nations in pursuit of trade and investment.
We are playing our part toward meeting the aspirations of the AU’s Agenda 2063 to achieve the Africa we want. At the same time, we are helping to create conditions that will enable our stability, growth, and development.”
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