By Johnathan Paoli
President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated that South Africa’s foreign policy will remain firmly anchored in principles of multilateralism, economic diplomacy, peacebuilding and respect for sovereignty, while avoiding partisan alignments with global powers.
Writing in his weekly letter on Monday, Ramaphosa reflected on South Africa’s participation in the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Japan last week and outlined how the country’s international engagements are tied to its national interest.
“South Africa’s national interest will forever remain independent, not beholden to external influence. It will reflect our constitutional values and national priorities. As we continue to engage constructively with the international community, we have been consistent that this should always be on the basis of mutual respect,”
Ramaphosa described TICAD as a “critical platform” for strengthening trade and investment relations between African nations and Japan.
He said discussions held on the sidelines of the conference between South African and Japanese business leaders explored potential collaboration in clean and renewable energy, automotive components and hydrogen production.
“One of the most promising discussions was around the continental expansion plans of Isuzu Motors,” Ramaphosa said.
The Japanese automaker has already trialled commercial truck and truck body manufacturing in South Africa and is considering positioning its local plant as a hub for African markets.
He stressed that such investments could significantly boost South Africa’s industrial base and create jobs at a time of global trade disruptions and tariff pressures.
The president underlined that economic diplomacy has become a central pillar of South Africa’s foreign policy, particularly amid shifting global power dynamics and domestic economic challenges.
Referring to the 2022 National Interest Framework Policy Document, he said South Africa’s foreign engagements were driven by the need to secure market access, attract investment and promote sustainable development.
“At a time when our country faces potentially high tariffs imposed by the US administration, we are continuing to put in place measures that reduce our dependence on historical markets,” Ramaphosa noted.
He said South Africa would continue to advocate for a rules-based international trade regime that protected developing economies from unilateral measures and protectionist practices.
Quoting Ghana’s founding president, Kwame Nkrumah, Ramaphosa said: “We face neither East nor West, we face forward.”
He explained that this philosophy underpinned South Africa’s non-aligned approach, allowing it to pursue strategic partnerships with both the Global North and South while remaining guided by principle rather than external pressure.
Ramaphosa reaffirmed that South Africa’s foreign policy continued to be shaped by solidarity with peoples facing dispossession and oppression.
He highlighted South Africa’s ongoing support for Palestine’s right to statehood, citing the country’s decision to bring Israel before the International Court of Justice despite criticism from some quarters.
“We continue to stand in principled solidarity with the peoples of Western Sahara in their struggle for self-determination, even when this has placed us at odds with other countries, including on the African continent,” he added.
The president stressed South Africa’s long-standing role as a mediator and peacebuilder across Africa and beyond.
He recalled the country’s contributions to peace processes in Lesotho, Burundi, South Sudan and the Great Lakes region, as well as its role in brokering the 2022 Pretoria Agreement that ended the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
As the 15th largest contributor to UN peacekeeping missions, South Africa has deployed personnel to conflict zones including Darfur, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ramaphosa pointed to South Africa’s participation in the 2023 African-led peace mission to Ukraine and Russia, adding that the country continues to engage with both sides in pursuit of dialogue.
He said that over the past weekend he held consultations with European leaders on new peace initiatives aimed at ending the war.
Ramaphosa said South Africa remained “situated at a particular confluence of world affairs” and was uniquely placed to act as a bridge between the developing and developed worlds.
He concluded that South Africa’s foreign policy would remain consistent with its constitutional values, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the principles of the United Nations Charter.
INSIDE POILTICS