MEXICO AND SOUTH AFRICA: WORKING TOGETHER TOWARD A CONSTRUCTIVE GLOBAL AGENDA
Ambassador Julián Ventura
Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico
Twitter: @JulianVenturaV
The foreign policies of Mexico and South Africa have a great deal in common. We are responsible regional and global players that actively support the rules-based international order and are committed to dialogue and cooperation as the most effective means to address common challenges. As we navigate turbulent waters marked by uncertainty, heightened economic tension and resurgent unilateral approaches, our collaboration is more important than ever.
This week I visit South Africa, in the context of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, to meet with my colleagues at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation and to exchange views with the academic and business communities. New governments are beginning their terms in both our countries and we share the goal of opening a new chapter in our relationship. In my meetings in Pretoria and Johannesburg, I look forward to reaffirming our friendship, underscoring our common priorities and working in tandem to promote a constructive, positive global agenda.
Our governments share democratic and progressive views. We pursue economic development and, more importantly, social inclusion. We are determined to continue to act on core issues such as climate change, environmental protection, gender equality and women’s empowerment. We recognize and actively promote the value of diversity. We understand each other’s aspirations and concerns.
Mexico and South Africa have a long history of acting within the United Nations and other multilateral fora, as was evident in the most recent G20 Summit. At the national level, we are taking concrete steps to fulfil our own commitments, as is the case in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We support integration and solidarity within our respective regions, while also reaching out to other partners across the world. For all of these reasons, we play important roles in helping close the gap between divergent positions.
In the months and years ahead we will strengthen the dialogue and cooperation between our countries, building upon each other’s efforts. A specific example can be our consecutive participation as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, South Africa in 2019-20 and Mexico in 2021-22. We have common viewpoints on the global agenda and both strongly believe that the Council’s working methods need to be improved and that a gender perspective must be mainstreamed in all its resolutions. We are more effective by acting together.
At the bilateral level, we have a strong partnership but much work ahead. Mexico unequivocally supported the struggle against apartheid, which led to a historic visit to Mexico City by Nelson Mandela in 1991, and paved the way for the establishment diplomatic relations on 26 October 1993. The following year, Mexico and South Africa opened diplomatic missions in each other’s capitals.
Our trade has since multiplied by 13, but it still stands below its potential, at 650 million dollars per year. Our private sectors and societies would benefit greatly from a closer integration of our markets and supply chains. Leading South African companies have invested in Mexico, as Mexican companies such as FEMSA-IMBERA, Cosmocel, Katcon, Metalsa, Binbit and Bimbo have successfully entered the South African market.
Despite the geographic distance that separates us, more than 5,000 South African tourists visited Mexico last year and 4,000 Mexicans made their way to this country. The potential for growth is significant, as is the case for the expansion of academic and cooperation projects. The newly opened Mexican Studies Centre of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) at Witwatersrand University will become a reference point in the region by promoting Mexican culture, fostering academic mobility schemes, and teaching and certifying Spanish as a foreign language.
Closer collaboration between Mexico and South Africa can bring about concrete benefits to our societies. I am convinced that in this new chapter in our relationship we can also make a difference in a complex global scenario.