As the continent celebrates Africa Day, Minister of International Relations Naledi Pandor is in Egypt to rekindle relations between Pretoria and Cairo.
Pandor is also expected to join President Cyril Ramaphosa in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, where they will participate in the African Union extra-ordinary summit.
Egypt is home to the historical pyramids and the owner of the Suez Canal. The country has a population of about 102 million and its GDP grew by 5 percent in the first quarter of 2022.
Egypt is also Africa’s third largest economy. Home to the Pharaohs and popular soccer team Al Ahly, Egypt is famous for its ancient civilisation. The country’s financial potential cannot be ignored. Pretoria plans to strengthen its relationship with Cairo again.
International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor, “We have a joint commission between South Africa and Egypt which was established many years ago at the inception of South Africa’s democracy. We have not serviced it well as we should. Egypt is very big population, they have a growing economy and they are keen to have ties with South Africa.”
#InternationalRelations | Today, Wednesday, 25 May 2022 International Relations & Cooperation Minister, Dr. Naledi Pandor had Political Consultations with her counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sameh Hassan Shoukry Selim in Cairo, Egypt.#SAinEgypt#SAEgyptRelations pic.twitter.com/b0qnAEih7O
— DIRCO South Africa (@DIRCO_ZA) May 25, 2022
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has affected the global oil price, Minister Pandor says Africa is trying to build its capacity.
“I think the key issue for us is the increase on the price of petroleum and the knock on effect. It is something that we must address. We have had good grain harvest in South Africa in the past few years, have some protection. It’s all in our interest to negotiate a peaceful outcome, that is what South Africa has been calling for.”
Pandor’s next stop will be Equatorial Guinea where she will join President Cyril Ramaphosa at the African Union extra ordinary summit.
“These are I think two extremely critical summits for South Africa. The first one is on terrorism and how we combat it together as the African continent. The second is really looking at the humanitarian situation which often arises from the conflicts.”
The South African chief diplomat has also emphasised the need for Africa to speed up integration so that its countries can easily do trade among themselves.
