International Relations on South Africa’s foreign policy engagements and diplomatic achievements

Tribute to Ambassador Mahlangu

We would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute the late Ambassador Mahlangu who was serving as South Africa’s High Commissioner to Kenya. The Late Ambassador Mahlangu was also accredited to Somalia. He was born on October 8, 1952, in Steve Tshwete Local Municipality, Mpumalanga. His journey began as a student activist, and he went on to play a pivotal role in shaping a new, democratic South Africa. He was a part of the group that drafted the country’s post-apartheid constitution and was elected to the first democratic parliament in 1994. His service continued as the Deputy Chairperson and later as Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces. His legacy is one of unwavering dedication and love for his country. The late ambassador Mahlangu was a true patriot whose love for our country shone through in the manner in which he went about executing our foreign policy.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to the late ambassador Mahlangu’s family, friends, and colleagues who worked alongside him. May his memory be a source of comfort during this difficult time. His loss is deeply felt by all who knew him and by the nation he served so faithfully.

South Africa’s Recent Foreign Policy Initiatives

Strengthening Regional Integration and Leadership in Southern Africa

South Africa’s leadership role in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has been significantly reaffirmed with its election as the Incoming (Deputy) Chair of the SADC Troika during the 45th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government held on 17 August 2025, in Antananarivo, Madagascar. With Madagascar assuming the Chairship, South Africa is now positioned to Chair organisation from August 2026. This election, alongside the Chairship of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), provides a strong platform for South Africa to drive the SADC’s regional integration agenda forward, particularly in the areas of economic and trade cooperation.

The 45th SADC Summit addressed a range of critical issues, including political and security stability, resource mobilisation, infrastructure development, industrialisation, food security, health, and gender mainstreaming. At the summit, South Africa signed four legal instruments to strengthen human rights, harmonise industrial policies, improve data integrity, and deepen cooperation in the tourism sector.

Advancing Peace and Security on the African Continent

South Africa continues to closely monitor and engage on the security situations in various regions. A delegation led by the Deputy Director General for Africa, Ambassador Tebogo Seokolo recently visited Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger to gain first-hand insights into the dynamics in the Sahel region, a critical step in informing our ongoing diplomatic efforts.

In the Great Lakes region, South Africa remains gravely concerned about the humanitarian and security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Despite peace deals, fighting between the M23 rebel group and the DRC armed forces persists. South Africa welcomes international efforts but emphasises that a sustainable solution must be African-led and inclusive of all local actors.

South Africa continues to contribute military personnel and equipment to the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), particularly the Force Intervention Brigade (FIB), in support of the DRC efforts to achieve stability and reconstruction.

South Africa is also actively involved in the African Union High-Level Ad Hoc Committee on South Sudan (C5), a body we chair. We reiterate our call on all South Sudanese stakeholders to fully and effectively implement the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) to bring an end to the suffering of the civilian population.

South Africa is extremely troubled to witness the devastating and wanton fighting in the Republic of Sudan. This conflict comes at a time when the region’s security situation has been deteriorating. The signing of a Political Framework Agreement between the civilian political forces and the military institution in Sudan on 05 December 2022 was a critical first step towards the formation of a civilian-led transitional government. The deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation is regrettable. As a matter of urgency, there must be an unconditional cessation of hostilities, which would be the first step to a comprehensive response to the humanitarian crisis.

Cultivating Strategic Bilateral and Multilateral Partnerships

Despite existing challenges, South Africa maintains robust and cordial relations with key global partners.

United States of America: South Africa and the United States continue to engage at the highest levels, as evidenced by the recent teleconference between President Ramaphosa and President Trump. While discussions on issues such as the 30% unilateral trade tariffs imposed by the U.S. highlight areas of concern, the bilateral relationship remains resilient.

We are our continuing to hold several strategic meetings at various political and governmental levels, including a recent meeting between that I held the Charge d’Affaires of the United States of America Mr David Greene. Deputy Minister Botes and his counterpart Deputy Secretary of State Mr Christopher Landau, also engaged via video conference recently discussing matters of mutual concern, including trade, geopolitical issues, and domestic matters. These engagements are ongoing and later this week we will be hosting a US congressional staff delegation from the House of Foreign Affairs Committee.

On domestic matters ranging from Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment, Expropriation Act, we have reiterated that these are matters which are firmly within the grasp of the South African people and are continuously being debated and assessed. Furthermore, in relation to assertions of human rights violations as contained in the latest US Human Rights 2024 report, we reiterate that that allegations of State-sponsored violations of human rights are not factual.

As highlighted previously according to the South African Police Services official statistics on rural safety for the fourth quarter of the 2024/2025 Financial Year (1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025), a total of 6 murder cases were reported in farming communities.

A breakdown of the victims reveals that these crimes are not targeted against a single racial group:

• 3 victims were employees
• 1 victim was a farm dweller
• 2 victims were farmers.

These figures underscore that violent crime in rural areas affects everyone who lives and works on farms and related rural areas. While the loss of any life is a tragedy, these statistics do not reveal a pattern of action driven by inflammatory racial rhetoric against a specific community. These statistics are continuously being reviewed every quarter with inputs from all the stakeholders in rural safety landscape.

Europe Engagements: President Ramaphosa recently held a teleconference with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, President Emmanuel Macron of France and President Alexandar Stubb of Finland. Additional calls with other European leaders will follow in the coming days and weeks, to discuss key international developments, including the ongoing situation in Ukraine and Russia. The Director General of Department Mr Zane Dangor has been in Kiev recently to meet with different actors in government, including in the foreign ministry and national security structures, towards efforts to sustain South Africa’s support for the peace initiative.

Middle East and Asia: South Africa reiterates its calls for an immediate cease fire in in Gaza. The continued killing of Palestinians has risen exponentially and we maintain that a cease fire is necessary to halt the humanitarian crisis. A joint report by four United Nations agencies has confirmed our worst fears that a failure to implement the provisional measures obtained by South Africa in the International Court of Justice has led to a man-made famine, the means necessary to sustain to life in Gaza is being destroyed which is further evidence of genocidal intent. We reiterate our call for the release of all hostages and political prisoners on both sides.

We continue to welcome global efforts to ensure the implementation of international law. These include initiatives such as the Madrid Group and The Hague Group which we lead recently in Bogota with 30 cross regional countries participating.

The Deputy Minister Thandi Moraka and the Director General recently concluded working visits to the Middle East. The Deputy Minister visited the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. Whilst the Director General has also concluded a working visit to Qatar to consult on the bilateral and regional peace and security issues.

Japan: President Ramaphosa led a high-level delegation to the 9th Tokyo International Conference on Development in Africa (TICAD) in Japan. The Summit’s theme, “Co-creating Innovative Solutions with Africa,” aligns with South Africa’s vision of a continent seeking partners, not aid. President Ramaphosa urged Japan to support tariff cooperation for African goods and emphasised the need for partnerships in infrastructure, energy, digital development, skills training, and youth innovation.

The successful Business Forum and high-level meetings with major Japanese corporations, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Toyota Tsusho, signal strong and positive Japanese economic interest in South Africa. Approximately two hundred South African companies were invited to participate in the economic theme side events held on the margins of the Summit.

This represents very strong and positive signal economic and trade investments in South Africa. Japan remains one of the highest investors in the South African economy, and we commend its innovative approach to a partnership of equals with the African continent.

South Africa will continue to leverage its diplomatic influence to advance national interests, contribute to regional and continental stability, and build a more just and prosperous world.

South Africa’s G20 Presidency has entered its last 100 days. These past 8 months have seen significant work being undertaken in both the Sherpa and Finance tracks. With 87 of the 132 official meetings on the calendar already having been held, South Africa is well on its way in preparations towards hosting a successful G20 Summit for the first time on African soil.
Currently, all G20 Working Groups are seized with negotiations on Ministerial Declarations and Outcomes. Under the Sherpa track two G20 Working Groups have already successfully adopted G20 Ministerial Declarations (Development Working Group and the Employment Working Group). These outcomes were adopted on 25 July 2025 and 31 July 2025, respectively. The next round of Ministerial meetings will take place in September 2025.
Under the Finance Track, the Fourth G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting took place on the 14- 15 July followed by the Third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting, that took place on the 17 and 18 July 2025, in Durban, South Africa. The Finance Ministers meeting outcomes were agreed in a communiqué consented to by all members that centres on strategic macroeconomic issues.

Update on South Africa’s G20 Presidency

South Africa’s G20 Presidency has also entered its most crucial phase, with preparations towards the G20 Leaders’ Summit. The negotiations taking place for the Working Group Ministerial meetings will set the tone for the forthcoming discussions on the G20 Johannesburg Leaders’ Declaration.

Furthermore, preparations are underway for several key meetings still to be hosted, including”

i) the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA 2.0) to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa in early October 2025,

ii) Food Security Meeting taking place in Cairo, Egypt in September 2025,

iii) Meeting on Industrialisation and Agriculture in Abuja, Nigeria in October 2025 and

iv) the 2nd G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting scheduled to take place on 25 September in the margins of the UNGA80 High-Level Week in New York at the United Nations Headquarters.

The Second G20 Foreign Ministers meeting is significant, in that it will be the 2nd time that a G20 Foreign Ministers meeting will be hosted at the UN with all UN member and observer states invited, following Brazil’s initiative last year, and as the United Nations celebrates the 80th Anniversary of its existence. As the premier forum for international economic cooperation, the G20 has a pivotal role to play in contributing to UN efforts aimed at creating an economically prosperous world that contributes towards the sustenance of global peace. It is only when the world is at peace that economic prosperity can be sustained.

Preparations towards the Leaders’ Declaration are also underway. The Declaration will build around South Africa’s G20 Presidency Theme (“Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability”) and agenda, which centres on its overarching priorities and high-level deliverables, with a strong emphasis on the developmental agenda for the Global South and the African continent. The last and 4th G20 Sherpa meeting, scheduled to be held on 16-19 November 2025, will host the final negotiations among G20 Sherpas on the Final Leaders’ Declaration to be adopted at the Leaders’ Summit.

Regarding the G20 Social Summit, preparations are underway to ensure the G20 Social Summit is successful, with wide attendance and participation from civil society. The Social Summit, scheduled for 18-20 November 2025, is one of the key highlights under South Africa’s Presidency, by expanding outreach to communities beyond the 13 G20 Engagement Groups.  Civil society organisations, think-tanks and academia from across the world will be invited to join the 2nd G20 Social Summit.

Finally, these final months of South Africa’s G20 Presidency will be crucial in ensuring a successful Leaders’ Summit where the G20 can commit to collective solutions for shared global challenges.