International relations
“Just as we are committed to improving the fortunes of our countrymen and women and to advancing shared prosperity for all, so too is our commitment to achieving a Better Africa and a Better world. We are greatly concerned at the recent escalation of tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, and call for an end to hostilities and for a resumption of the stalled peace process.” – President Cyril Ramaphosa, SoNA, 9 February 2023, Cape Town City Hall.
Africa expresses its deepest condolences to the government and people of Türkiye following the devastating earthquake earlier this week.
“As a country we are immensely proud of the efforts of Gift of the Givers to help those affected by the earthquake.” – President Cyril Ramaphosa, SoNA, 9 February 2023, Cape Town City Hall.
Government remains deeply concerned about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and urges all parties to cease hostilities and seek a peaceful solution through dialogue.
Africa
“South Africa’s fortunes are inextricably linked to those of our continent, and to the Southern African Development Community in particular. For the sake of our own stability and prosperity, we are duty bound to pursue interventions that will bring peace, stability and development in our continent.” – President Cyril Ramaphosa, SoNA, 9 February 2023, Cape Town City Hall.
South Africa will continue to expand trade and investment opportunities with its global trade partners and will look to attract investment and financing to South Africa through participation in multilateral forums such as the Group of Twenty, which it will host in 2025.
This year South Africa assumes the chairship of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa group of countries. Its focus will be on collaboration on sustainable development, the just energy transition, industrialisation and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
South Africa, together with its neighbours in the Southern African Customs Union, will soon finalise its industrial offer on the AfCFTA. Once fully operationalised, the AfCFTA will provide an unprecedented opportunity to deepen African economic integration, grow national economies, and open up new frontiers and markets for South African companies.
“A nation’s true character is revealed in times of crisis. A nation is defined by how its people meet the gravest of difficulties – whether they work together and confront their challenges as one, united by a common purpose, or whether they surrender to the problems before them.” – President Cyril Ramaphosa, SoNA, 9 February 2023, Cape Town City Hall.
“We are a nation seized with the challenges of the present, but we are also a nation striving to fulfil the promise of our future. When we took our first steps on the road to democracy, we had a clear vision of where that road would lead us.
“We saw a country in which all people were equal. We saw a country in which the wealth of our resources would be enjoyed by all. We saw a country in which we could live together in peace, in which we could work together to build a common identity and a shared future.
“Our nation is founded on a Constitution which affirms the democratic values of dignity, equality and freedom, and the rights of each and every one of us. The actions we have outlined this evening, building on the work we have already done, will bring us closer to that vision.
“They will enable us, working together and with purpose, to emerge from this crisis as a nation transformed. We will emerge from this crisis with an electricity system that is more efficient, more reliable and more competitive.
“We will emerge with ports and railways that again rival the best in the world, with broadband access for more South Africans in more parts of the country, and with a sustainable supply of quality water. We will welcome more tourists to our country, and develop and attract the skills our economy needs.
“We will create work for those who are unemployed, and give hope to those who have waited too long. With more police on the street, with functioning community policing forums and an effective and independent prosecution authority, our people will be able to count on the protection of the State.
“By fighting economic sabotage and organised crime, our infrastructure will be more secure and businesses will be able to operate more freely. Through a strengthened and expanded social protection system, fewer people will live in poverty and fewer households will experience hunger.
“We must do all of these things, not only to overcome our immediate challenges, but to renew the promise of South Africa. It is a promise that we have kept alive in our hearts and in our actions.
“This year, it will be 10 years since we bid farewell to Nelson Mandela, the first President of a democratic South Africa, our beloved Madiba. It will also be 105 years since his birth. As we honour his great life, let us draw inspiration from the words he spoke at his inauguration in 1994, when he said:
“Out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud.
“Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must produce an actual South African reality that will reinforce humanity’s belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul and sustain all our hopes for a glorious life for all.”
“To build such a society, to overcome the great difficulties of the moment, we need to work together. We need to stay the course. “We need, as a nation, at this time more than any other, to reveal our true character. We need to work together and leave no one behind.” – President Cyril Ramaphosa, SoNA, 9 February 2023, Cape Town City Hall.
Related links
- Department of International Relations and Cooperation
- Speeches and statements - International relations
Source: State of the Nation Address Highlights [PDF]
