Remarks by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the occasion of the presentation of credentials by Heads of Mission accredited to South Africa

Programme Director,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Your Excellencies, High Commissioners and Ambassadors Designate,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Senior Government Officials,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Memebers of the media,

Good afternoon.

I am extremely pleased to welcome all of you to our beautiful country.

It is my sincere hope that, beyond your official duties over the next few years, you will come to truly embrace the richness of our country.

It is my hope that you will come to learn our languages and cultures as much as we will learn yours.

We are a nation founded on unity in diversity. 

The Freedom Charter – the document upon which our constitutional order is built – enjoins us to ensure that a free and democratic South Africa works for peace and friendship between the nations of the world. 

In this regard, I am honoured to be welcoming to our shores High Commissioners and Ambassadors charged precisely with the responsibility to advance the friendship that exists between our respective countries.

In exactly two weeks from today, we will be marking the 30th anniversary of the release from prison of the father of our nation and democracy, Nelson Mandela.

Together with many across the world, we are continuously reflecting on the values by which Madiba lived, the methods he employed to achieve his objectives, and the ideals for which he was prepared to die. 

We are firm in our conviction that what Nelson Mandela represented is precisely what constitutes the foundation upon which we can and must build a better world: a world that is more humane and more democratic. 

A world that is deeply rooted in social justice and human rights. 

We are welcoming you to South Africa confident that you will work with us, inspired by Nelson Mandela, to strive for a world that observes and respects the equality of all people and indeed of all sovereign states.

As we meet here today, we must acknowledge that new tendencies are emerging and some old ones are resurfacing which threaten to undermine a cooperative and mutually beneficial approach to global governance.

As we work together over the coming years, ours must be a common desire to deepen democracy within the multilateral institutions of global governance and to strive for their effectiveness.

We must assert a shared belief in the equality of all people and all sovereign states regardless of their economic power or military might.

Notwithstanding our responsibility to advance and protect the national interests of our respective countries, we have a duty to do so without provoking aggression or animosity.

Like Nelson Mandela, we must become soldiers of peace and always strive for the peaceful resolution of conflict. 

We must focus our efforts on conflict prevention, by, among other things, collectively addressing the leading causes of conflict – poverty, inequality and economic and political marginalisation. 

We must readily accept that lasting peace and security will not be achieved unless we create a world that is conducive for sustainable development and shared prosperity.

We should therefore work together to strengthen multilateral institutions and instruments to ensure that they are fair, representative and advance the interests of the poor.

Your Excellencies,

We are welcoming you to our country a few days before South Africa assumes the Chairship of the African Union for 2020. 

We will also continue our role this year as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. 

We will be working with our fellow African countries to silence the guns on our continent and create conducive conditions for the development of Africa. 

This is the year in which we will operationalise the agreement on the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is envisaged to make Africa the largest common market in the world. 

It will boost intra-Africa trade, reignite industrialisation and pave the way for the meaningful integration of Africa into global value-chains.

Our continent, with its abundant natural resources and youthful population, has unmatched potential for growth. 

It is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for investors from across the world and from a wide variety industries. 

As South Africa, we have embarked on an ambitious investment drive to reignite growth in our economy and to create jobs. 

We have addressed and are continuously attending to concerns raised by investors through the various platforms of engagement. 

We are working to ensure that we significantly reduce the cost of doing business and improve the ease of doing business within our shores.

Beyond this, our country offers investors the stability of a constitutional framework that is underpinned by democracy with a functional government, an effective legal environment, cost competitiveness, a sophisticated banking system and reliable infrastructure.

We invite you, Your Excellencies, as representatives of your respective countries to join South Africa on the journey of cooperation for economic growth, shared prosperity, peace and collective security. 

I wish you well in your responsibilities and hope that you will enjoy your stay in South Africa. 

I thank you.