President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged governments around the world to put their differences aside and work together to achieve world peace and prosperity.
The President made the remarks while addressing nine Ambassadors and High Commissioners as he received their Letters of Credence from their respective countries to serve in diplomatic missions in South Africa.
“A world that is more human and more democratic. A world that is deeply rooted in social justice and a respect for human rights,” he said at the ceremony held at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria on Tuesday.
The President received letters of credence from the representatives from United States of America; the Czech Republic; Republic of Gambia; Republic of Croatia; Republic of Algeria; the State of Palestine; State of Qatar; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Federal Republic of Somalia; New Zealand and the United Republic of Tanzania.
The President welcomed the representatives, confident that they will work with South Africa in the endeavour for a world that respects human rights.
“We must assert a shared belief in the equality of all people and all sovereign states regardless of their economic power or even their military, notwithstanding our responsibility to advance and protect the national interest of our respective countries,” said President Ramaphosa.
He said world governments have a duty to do so without provoking any animosity among the people of the world.
“Like Nelson Mandela, we must soldier for peace and always strive for the peaceful resolution of any conflict. We must focus our efforts on conflict prevention by, amongst other things, collectively addressing the leading causes of conflict and we count among the leading courses of conflict poverty, inequality and economic and political marginalisation.”
He added that governments should work together to establish institutions and instruments that will be fair and representative and advance the interests of the poor and the vulnerable.
South Africa which embarks on its second year of its non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council will continue to advocate for the silencing of the guns on the African continent.
World leaders, he said, must readily accept that lasting peace and security will not be achieved unless they create a world that is conducive for sustainable development and a shared prosperity among all the people of the world.
He invited the ambassadors to join South Africa on its journey for economic growth, shared prosperity, peace and collective security.
“This is the year in which we will operationalise the agreement of the African Union which is the Africa Free Trade Agreement [AfCFTA] which is envisioned to make Africa the largest common market in the world,” said President Ramaphosa.
The AfCFTA was officially launched into its implementation phase at a Special AU Summit in Niamey, Niger, after 54 African countries signed the agreement and 27 countries ratified it.
Trading under the terms of the AfCFTA is intended to come into effect on 1 July 2020. – SAnews.gov.za
