International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has today concluded a successful working visit to Germany where she led the South African delegation to the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Bonn from 16-17 February 2017.
South Africa is one of the 19 member countries of the Group of 20 (G20) which, in addition to the European Union (EU), the 20th member, have been meeting regularly since 1999 to discuss global economic policy coordination.
Germany assumed the Presidency of the G20 in December 2016 and unveiled its overarching theme for its Presidency of “Shaping an Interconnected World” with the sub-themes of “building resilience”, “improving sustainability” and “assuming responsibility”.
The G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting convened under the theme: “Shaping the global order – foreign policy beyond crisis management.” Contemporary and future global security and development issues were deliberated by the Foreign Ministers. The topics of discussion included: “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, “Maintaining peace in a complex world,” and “Cooperation with Africa.”
South Africa’s participation in the G20 is informed by the National Development Plan and the strategic imperative to negotiate the best possible outcomes for South Africa, Africa and the developing world.
In this regard, Minister Nkoana-Mashabane stated during the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting that the G20 members must support the African continent in its economic integration and development initiatives.
“Africa has its own development blueprint, namely, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) as its implementation mechanism. These programmes are also aligned to the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” said Minister Nkoana-Mashabane.
The Minister added that the G20 partners could contribute significantly by cooperating with Africa in realising this vision of a sustainable continent.
The G20 Summit is scheduled for 7 – 8 July 2017 in Hamburg, Germany.
Distributed by APO on behalf of Republic of South Africa: Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
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Source: APO – Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa
