Johannesburg, April 1 (IANS) South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola reaffirmed the country’s commitment to diplomacy, emphasising that it will remain firm on its principled positions.
Speaking on Monday at the opening of the inaugural Annual Aziz Pahad Peace, Security, and Human Rights Dialogue in Pretoria, the country’s administrative capital, Lamola noted that South Africa will not engage in “trading insults” with any country, Xinhua news agency reported.
“We’re practicing diplomacy. We’re not in the business of trading insults with anyone in the world. We will remain firm on our principled positions. We will continue to pursue our national interest in line with diplomatic decorum,” Lamola said. “If we disagree with any country, it should not be on the basis of insults but the substance of the matter.”
He further noted that South Africa valued its “mutually beneficial trade relations” with the United States, and the government remained committed to extending a “hand to bridge our recently challenging relationship with the US.”
While Pretoria was open to mending its strained ties with Washington, it remained firm on its policies, including taking the Israeli government to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2023 over alleged genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Addressing international relations matters at the African National Congress media briefing on Sunday, Lamola said South Africa is not prepared to withdraw its case at The Hague.
“This is a matter that we will not withdraw from the court, which we have already put. This is a matter that we will not compromise. There are issues of progressive internationalism that we cannot compromise on, including the issue of the ICJ. This is an issue of international law, which has to be respected by everyone,” he said.
Speaking at the Monday dialogue, Lamola also asserted that South Africa would continue to pursue its redress policies, including the Expropriation Act, despite its role in recent tensions with Washington.
He said these policies were enshrined in the country’s constitution. “The foundational elements of redress are powerfully articulated in the preamble of the Constitution. As a sovereign state, we will continue to pursue the transformative objective as recently outlined in the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act, the National Health Insurance Act, and the Expropriation Act.”
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