The Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra says South Africa and Algeria must always ensure that they promote peace and security as was the case during the struggle years in South Africa.
Lamamra made these comments during his meeting with International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor in Pretoria on Monday.
The two ministers have also called on Ukraine and Russia to agree to the talks facilitated by the United Nations to bring an end to the war that has raged on for almost a year now.
Pandor says, “Our hope always is that process of diplomacy leading to genuine negotiations would become the focus of the world leaders because we are concerned at the impact of this war between Russia and Ukraine.”
Lamamra says South Africa and Algeria are able to use their skills and capabilities to push for a better relations.
“We stand for the unity of our continent. The unity in the African Union lies in our strength. Our collective capacity to implement our own programme on agenda and influence developments around us in the world, like the questions of international peace and security.”
During the meeting Pandor also raised concerns about the current tension between the US and China.
The most recent China-US tensions were triggered after the US military shot down what it says was a Chinese spy balloon. Pandor says tensions between the West and the East pose a threat to world peace.
“With reference to the United States and China all of us are familiar with the trade disputes that they have been. That view that if there is a conflict in China everybody else must join in is a very worrying one.”
AU Summit
And as the continent prepares for the AU Summit this weekend in Addis Ababa, another thorny issue is the decision by the AU Commission chair, Moussa Faki Mahamat, to grant Israel observer status at the African Union.
Minister of Foreign Affairs in Algeria, Ramtane Lamamra, says he hopes this issue will not divert the continent’s attention away from the pertinent issues.
There can not be any evolution in the position of the AU Commission without the benefit of a final decision if any to be made collectively by the summit of the African Union.
The AU Summit is expected to deal with this and other ongoing and emerging issues affecting the continent.
