South Africa will continue to work with the members of the Alliance for Multilateralism in creating a just, humane and equitable world and a rules-based international system of global governance, a cabinet minister said on Wednesday.
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor made the remarks at a virtual ministerial meeting of the Alliance for Multilateralism.
The Alliance for Multilateralism, launched on April 2, 2019, by France and Germany, is an informal alliance of countries that believe multilateralism founded on respect for international law is the only reliable guarantee for international stability and peace and that the challenges they are facing can only be solved through cooperation.
South Africa welcomes this discussion and hopes all of the member countries will continue to ensure that global collaboration does serve the greater good, Pandor said.
She reaffirmed that South Africa endorses the Alliance’s Declaration of Principles, which outlines the alliance’s political framework and objectives based on three actions, namely, to protect, preserve and advance international law and agreements; to drive initiatives in support of strengthening the multilateral system; and to reform existing international institutions.
“We require decisive, multilateral, coordinated and innovative action from all of us, putting our citizens, especially the most vulnerable, first,” Pandor said.
She said more can be done together to reverse the worst effects of COVID-19 through the alliance, which includes the most powerful countries.
“We welcome global initiatives aimed at developing a vaccine against COVID-19,” Pandor said, calling for immediate and equal access for all, much more efforts aimed at supporting research and innovation in Africa, and more investment in health systems that can offer quality care and universal health coverage.
It is imperative that recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic leverages synergies and complementarities between social, economic and environmental measures, for a holistic response to the crisis, said Pandor.
“Our alliance should seek practical ways of building back better,” Pandor said, adding that the next global emergency “should find us better prepared with stronger social protections, health systems and public services.”
