Notes for the Address to the outgoing Heads of Mission, Monday, 18 September 2006, Foreign Service Institute

Your Excellencies,
Ambassadors designate
Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen

I am happy to be here to share some of my thoughts with you regarding our foreign policy agenda and have this opportunity to engage with each other on these matters.

I think it is important that we are provided with this opportunity, because in spite of our different backgrounds, we are all committed to serving a common cause, which is to create a better South Africa in a better Africa for a better world.

• Our national liberation has been about a move from our apartheid past towards non-racialism, equity and unity in diversity. We have often expressed this in terms of creating a better life for all.
  
  
• Of course we have always determined that political freedom alone will not be sustained if not underpinned by tangible socio-economic transformation. Seen in this way, creating a better life for all entails the adoption and implementation of a value based set of policies and programmes aimed at, amongst others, to create:
  
  
  • a competitive fast growing economy which creates sufficient jobs for all jobseekers;
  • a redistribution of income and opportunities in favour of the poor;
  • a society capable of ensuring that sound health, education and other services are available to all; and
  • an environment in which homes are safe and places of work are productive.

The State of the Nation

In his State of the Nation this year, President Mbeki gave a detailed picture of where we are this year and how far we still have to go. You will of course agree that before we can even think about embarking on an ambitious foreign policy agenda, we need to thoroughly understand our domestic context.

Our Foreign Policy is informed by our domestic policy and the two are mutually reinforcing. Informed by our domestic policy, South Africa's foreign policy is guided by the vision of a better South Africa in a better Africa and a better world.

As we pursue our foreign policy, we are guided by the following priorities:

• The Consolidation of the African Agenda
• South-South Co-operation
• North-South Dialogue
• Global Governance (Political, Economic and Security)
• Strengthening bilateral and multilateral relations

These are our strategic priorities and they are enduring, principled and consistent.

The marching orders: Key messages from the President's State of the Nation Address

President Mbeki's address highlighted a set of key messages, which should be infused in your work as Heads of Mission all over the world.

• This year opened with the good news that our people were highly optimistic about their future and the future of our country, ranking 8th in the world on the optimism index. Gallup International, which issued this report, said we have three times more optimists than pessimists, and that the optimism figure had doubled even since 2002.
  
  
• The results obtained by Gallup International have been confirmed by a recent domestic poll conducted by Markinor. According to this poll, 65% of our people believe that the country is going in the right direction. 84% think that our country holds out a happy future for all racial groups. 71% believe that government is performing well.
  
  
• With regard to the economy, in January the Grant Thornton International Business Owners Survey reported that 84% of South Africa's business owners are optimistic about the year ahead, making them the third most optimistic internationally. Again last month, the First National Bank and the Bureau for Economic Research reported that the consumer confidence index is at its highest in 25 years.
  
  
• What these figures signify is that our people are firmly convinced that our country has entered its Age of Hope. They are convinced that we have created the conditions to achieve more rapid progress towards the realisation of their dreams. They are certain that we are indeed a winning nation.
  
  
• There is also a new national pride. You will also be pleased to know that a survey conducted by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) shows that 90% of our population is proud of our country, our flag and National Anthem, while 60% consider Freedom Day, April 27th, as the most important national day.

• The outcomes of these surveys communicate the unequivocal message that our people expect that:
  
  
  • we should move faster to address the challenges of poverty, underdevelopment and marginalisation confronting those caught within the Second Economy, to ensure that the poor in our country share in our growing prosperity;
  • we should make the necessary interventions with regard to the First Economy to accelerate progress towards the achievement of higher levels of economic growth and development of at least 6% a year;
  • we must sustain and improve the effectiveness of our social development programmes targeted at providing a cushion of support to those most exposed to the threat of abject poverty;
  • we must act more aggressively with regard to our criminal justice system to improve the safety and security of our people, especially by improving the functioning of our courts and increasing our conviction rates to strengthen the message that crime does not pay;
  • we must ensure that the machinery of government, especially the local government sphere, discharges its responsibilities effectively and efficiently, honouring the precepts of Batho Pele; and,
  • we must harness the Proudly South African spirit that is abroad among the people to build the strongest possible partnership between all sections of our population to accelerate our advance towards the realisation of the important goal of a better life for all.

ASGISA

• Under the leadership of Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the three spheres of government have been working together for some months to elaborate the specific interventions that will ensure that ASGISA, the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa, succeeds in its purposes, which include the reduction of the unemployment levels.
  
  
• ASGISA is not intended to cover all elements of a comprehensive development plan. Rather it consists of a limited set of interventions that are intended to serve as catalysts to accelerated and shared growth and development.
  
  
• ASGISA has also identified particular sectors of our economy for accelerated growth, building on the work already done within the context of our existing Micro-Economic Reform Programme. These include:
  
  
  • Business Process Outsourcing;
  • Tourism;
  • Chemicals;
  • Bio-fuels;
  • Metals and metallurgy;
  • Wood, pulp and paper;
  • Agriculture;
  • The creative industries; and
  • Clothing and textiles.

Role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Missions in ASGISA: JIPSA

• Everything we have said so far, concerning ASGISA, points to the conclusion that, to meet our objectives, we will have to pay particular attention to the issue of scarce skills that will negatively affect the capacity of both the public and the private sectors to meet the goals set by ASGISA.
  
  
• Together with our social partners, we have agreed to a vigorous and wide-ranging skills development and acquisition programme to meet any shortfalls we may experience.
  
  
• Among other things, we have already agreed to establish within a few weeks a multi-stakeholder working group, JIPSA, the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition, through which government, business, labour and civil society will act jointly to respond to the skills challenge in as practical a manner as possible.

Role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Missions

• We must ensure that we use all the offers for training and capacity development that emanate from our bilateral agreements.
• We have already started a process coordinated by my office in support of Deputy President, to conduct an audit of these offers and putting them to good use.

The 2010 World Cup and the role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Missions

• The 2010 Soccer World Cup will make an important contribution to our effort to accelerate our progress towards the achievement of the goal of a better life for our people. Similarly, as an African Soccer World Cup, it will give additional impetus to our struggle to achieve Africa's renaissance.

Background

• DFA represented in Inter-governmental 2010 Committees
• Minister of Foreign Affairs a member of the IMC on 2010
• DFA represented on Technical Co-ordinating Committee chaired by Deputy Minister Jabu Moleketi
• DFA 2010 Operational Unit consists of Protocol, Consular and Marketing sections

Envisaged impact of hosting the 2010 World Cup

• Event is a superb platform to raise the profile of "BRAND SOUTH AFRICA"
• Substantial investment in tourism, transport and infrastructure
• focused attention from international media provides unique opportunity to advance "Economic Diplomacy"
• 350 000 visitors expected in SA
• 3 million tickets to be sold
• 40 billion people (cumulative) in 207 countries expected to watch the 64 matches
• R12,7 billion direct expenditure
• R213 billion to GDP
• 129 000 jobs to be created
• R7,2 billion taxes to be collected
• Opportunity for RSA to use its elevated stature for positioning and advancing the African Agenda beyond 2010
• Hosting of event in Africa is historic and in alignment with the African Renaissance
• Opportunity to change negative stereotypes about Africa
• Complements NEPAD objectives of partnership between developed and developing countries
• Concept of an 'African World Cup' will profile the whole continent and possibly stimulate renewed investment interest in Africa

Role of the Department of Foreign Affairs

• Minister of Foreign Affairs has signed various guarantees relating to our work, for example to ensure that all national flags and anthems of participating countries will be flown and sung during the event
• DFA to provide Protocol Courtesies to FIFA dignitaries, Heads of State/Government and other VVIPs attending the event
• DFA to provide relevant Ceremonial Services to VVIPs
• DFA to provide Hospitality Services to VVIPs
• DFA to provide a comprehensive Flag Bank to ensure correct City Dressing
• DFA to provide a comprehensive Audio Library to ensure availability of relevant National Anthems

Role of the Missions

• SA Missions to embark on a sustained marketing campaign to promote the event, South Africa and Africa
• SA Missions to be beefed up in order to facilitate a seamless process of issuing of visas
• This will be followed up as the campaign unfolds.

DFA Priorities

Consolidating the African Agenda

• We will continue to engage the African challenges, focusing on peace and democracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire and Sudan, the strengthening of the African Union and the acceleration of the process of the implementation of the NEPAD programmes. In this context we have to ensure that we conduct a successful self-assessment process as we prepare our national report for the African Peer Review Mechanism.
  
  
• As the current Chair of the G77 + China we will do everything possible to advance the interests of the South, including in the context of the continuing WTO negotiations, and the urgent challenge to reform the United Nations, including the Security Council.
  
  
• We remain actively engaged to help find solutions to the various matters relating to the Israel/Palestine and the Iranian issues. We are committed to the pursuit of negotiated agreements in this regard, consistent with our long held views in favour of the formation of a State of Palestine, security for Israel, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

South-South Co-operation

• For the purposes of advancing the agenda of Africa and the South, South Africa actively engages and co-operates with like-minded countries, ad-hoc coalitions, regional and sub-regional groups and other forums such as the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), G20+, India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA) and the Commonwealth through which it adopts common positions. Whilst South Africa clearly positions itself within NAM and other multilateral fora as one of the leading voices of the South, it also maintains independence in pursuing its principled positions on global issues.

North-South Dialogue

• South Africa endeavours to consolidate an agenda for the South and to build partnership with the North to forge a common vision for meeting the pressing challenges faced by the global community, including poverty eradication, peace and security, good governance and sustainable development. Under the guidance of the objective to create "a better life for all" South Africa has strategically accepted requests or suggestions for assuming leadership positions and continued to nurture the high respect that its moral leadership has received. South Africa continues to be seen as a hope for others who wish to achieve a people-centred global order through the constructive and innovative ways it is attempting to deal with its two economies, the rich, technologically driven first economy and the poor, underdeveloped second economy.

Global Governance

• South Africa, consistently asserts the importance of multilateralism and the urgent need to revitalize and reform the UN. To curtail the abuse of power and influence in multilateral institutions such as the UN, South Africa also consistently calls for more equitable representation of Africa and other developing regions and for the adoption of more just and transparent rules and procedures.
• United Nations Security Council - South Africa's election for a non-permanent seat.

[I thought here we might look at the report of the UNSC Workshop conducted by Multilateral]

Strengthening bilateral relations with other nations of the world

• All of the Heads of Mission present will be working towards improving existing relations and consolidating these.
• Foreign presentation should actually cut across all the bilateral work that Heads of Mission will perform at their new workstations.

CONCLUSION

There are a number of important documents and publications that I would like to draw to your attention and which I think will be essential for you to read to keep up to speed on what is happening at home. These include:

• Key messages from Cabinet
• Bua News
• Strategic Plan
• DFA today
• Key documents from PCAS… to name a few.

I wish you all well in your new roles and thank you once again for the opportunity to talk with you.