Chair, the situation in the world today is becoming more confusing by the day. The need for countries of the world to discuss the problems that are becoming more and more complicated is indeed very urgent. However, in order to begin a proper multilateral discussion, it is imperative that a single international agenda is obtained. This is necessary to achieve a crosscutting effect to allow all interests to be tabled. The redistribution of power and wealth is already taking place more by the force of events rather than through a collectively agreed script.
The intricacies of global power will of necessity require all parties to understand that the world in 2012 is very different from what it was after World War II. A new centre of power is emerging and this centre is in the East, not the West. This shifting in the balance of power, which is taking place through faster economic growth in the East, is already raising sharp challenges and fuelling new expectations among those who had no visibility before. In this regard, Africa is no longer seen as a lost cause but as the last remaining continent with a genuine possibility of growth.
Africa may not have been an important economic and political player in the past, but that situation is about to change. There is already tension in Africa as to which country will play a pivotal role in shaping the new dynamics.
For South Africa the intricacies become even greater. On the one hand we have had a longstanding relationship with the West. More recently we became a partner in Brics. We are also part of the African Union, AU. How South Africa maintains the delicate balance and remains onside each time will, of course, require deep thinking and skilful statecraft.
The importance of safekeeping and strengthening our own democracy in order to contribute significantly to consolidating global democracy is a matter of great strategic importance, which seems to be getting lost. The regressive steps that are being taken by governments worldwide in recent times will not only have implications for us domestically but also internationally.
The time has come in the world to increase political space in keeping with technological advances because that is how the younger generations will want it. Nothing will stand in their way and if our own thinking is regressive, we are doomed. The sad fate of Mubarak and Gaddafi, among others, shows clearly the need to march in the right direction, which is one of getting people involved.
The time we live in is characterised by great wealth and great poverty in the same physical space. South Africans visiting Greece, Italy and Portugal, among other places, are startled by the number of Europeans reduced to the kind of poverty people on our continent have borne forever.
It is an imperative of our time that the new world order is in tune with new technology. It is equally important to create a new economic order. As we are speaking, the world's economic order is tottering. Unemployment in many parts of the world is escalating and the migration of people in search of employment has no new centre of attraction. We have reached an economic stalemate.
In conclusion, we in Cope are deeply concerned about the failure to attend to the complexities that face our nation and the world. We are alarmed by the lack of urgency in dealing with these complexities. We urge the attention of all nations to these matters as a matter of urgency. If we don't do it, if we cannot step forward, if we keep our brains in the decade that is behind us, we are doomed.