South Africa in the World 2020:Lessons learnt and strategic choices for the next decade

The Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) cordially invite you to a conversation titled: "South Africa in the World 2020:Lessons learnt and strategic choices for the next decade"

As South Africa prepares for its upcoming role as Chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ for Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, the fluidity of regional dynamics are compounded by emergent security and political developments. This presents an opportune moment for Pretoria to re-assess its strategic choices with the regional integration agenda at its centre. What has been South Africa’s imprint in shaping the regional order and how will it bolster its leadership roles and advance foreign policy priorities in various multilateral forums in 2021?

South Africa’s third tenure as an elected, non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (2019-2020) indicates that it has been rather adept at pursuing a strategic set of priority issues including: deepening African cooperation with African elected members (A3); engaging on the women peace and security agenda; selecting key peace and security agenda items pertinent to Africa; participating actively as a member of the Elected 10 (E10); and sharing key lessons with the incoming Africa group representative, Kenya. Furthermore, South Africa's chairship of the African Union (AU) comes to an end in February 2021; amidst toned-down engagement around a number of key thematic items like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Silencing the Guns 2020 initiative, which have been arguably relegated to the back burner in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. What pivotal lessons has South Africa learnt from the past decade to correct inconsistencies and pitfalls in its foreign policy outlook; and how do these lessons factor into the key determinants and drivers of South African foreign policy in 2021?

Date: 18 November 2020
Time: 12:00
Platform: Zoom