South Africa determined to support innocent, oppressed people who seek freedom

By Mevlut Ozkan and Nuri Aydin

ISTANBUL (AA) - South Africa has emerged as one of the strongest voices against Israel’s genocidal war in the Gaza Strip – a war that lasted for over two years, starting on Oct. 7, 2023, followed by a fragile ceasefire that went into effect this month.

The country’s advocacy is further highlighted by its filing of a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023, accusing Israel of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention.

South Africa is “determined to ensure that we support innocent people who are oppressed, who seek freedom,” Deputy President Paul Mashatile told Anadolu.

“We stand for justice and peace, and it will come with some challenges, but that's the route we've taken,” he said.

Mashatile praised international support for South Africa’s ICJ case, joined by countries including Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Türkiye, Chile, and Ireland.

“Our commitment to a peaceful resolution of conflict doesn't end there,” he said, highlighting President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to Ukraine this April, South Africa's involvement in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and his recent trip to South Sudan, where he met with key leaders to help ensure "peaceful elections" by the end of 2026.

“We are supporting many countries where innocent people are being oppressed, women and children killed,” he said.

He said if invited to assist with conflicts anywhere in the world, South Africa would draw on its “rich history of engagement” and resolution through negotiation, offering its expertise to help resolve conflicts.

Mashatile said Israel is “unhappy” because of South Africa’s support for Palestine, but “they themselves have not been issuing any threats,” as it is not one of South Africa’s biggest trading partners.

“We know that with this case in particular, there are other powers in the world that are not happy that we are doing this, and we may face consequences that are negative,” he noted, citing tariffs being “weaponized against those that you don't agree with.”

South African goods are currently hit with a 30% tariff by the US, while US President Donald Trump also signed an executive order cutting American financial assistance to South Africa, citing concerns over its land expropriation law and the genocide case.

- South Africa’s G20 Leaders’ Summit is ‘going to be a big success’

South Africa, the first African nation to hold the G20 presidency, is set to host the G20 Leaders’ Summit in November.

“We decided right from the beginning that we must not just make it a South African event, but we must bring African countries to take advantage of this opportunity,” said Mashatile.

“We know that the G20 is going to be a big success.”

He said most of the engagements and meetings, including those of foreign ministers and trade ministers, have involved African countries, even as observers, because the summit’s theme is based on solidarity.

“Solidarity, equality, sustainable development for the continent as a whole, so that whatever we do, given this opportunity, must benefit the African continent,” he stressed.

He noted South Africa’s appreciation for Türkiye’s “big support” for its G20 presidency, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirming that he will be attending the leaders’ summit.

“That support is very important for us because it shows that the Republic of Türkiye … takes the continent seriously,” he underlined.

- Türkiye-Africa Business and Economic Forum

During his visit to Türkiye last week, Mashatile attended the inauguration in Ankara of the South Africa-Türkiye Binational Commission, a body agreed upon in 2012 that he co-chairs with Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, and participated in the fifth Türkiye-Africa Business and Economic Forum (TABEF) in Istanbul – a two-day forum, with Anadolu serving as its global communication partner.

He called the TABEF a “very important institution” for bringing together business leaders from Africa and Türkiye to collaborate on initiatives across various sectors, including agriculture, energy, tourism and infrastructure, and expressed happiness at having the opportunity to address them.

“Government must create conditions for businesses to be able to trade, to partner, and those are the things that the forum is able to bring to the fore, because businesspeople have different challenges,” he said.

- South Africa as a gateway to the African continent

Mashatile highlighted Turkish companies' established presence in South Africa across various sectors, noting that energy -- particularly generation, transmission and renewable sources like solar and wind -- is a key focus, as Türkiye possesses the technologies South Africa wants.

He said the second priority is infrastructure as South Africa works on improving logistics including ports, rail lines and water systems and stressed the importance of bringing in expertise.

“We want value-add, and that's why skills transfer is very critical,” he underscored.

“We believe that for our own success as South Africa, we need also to help the African continent to succeed,” said Mashatile.

He emphasized the importance of leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area as a gateway to penetrate African markets.

“We see South Africa as a gateway to the African continent,” he said, highlighting the opportunity it offers to explore investment prospects in the Southern African Development Community and sub-Saharan Africa.