Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Ministers, hon Members of Parliament, Your Excellencies, ambassadors and high commissioners and members of the diplomatic corps, guests in the gallery, having emerged from the international isolation of the apartheid era, South Africa has become a leading international actor. In this regard the ANC's 2007 Polokwane conference resolved the following, and I quote:
As part of achieving our strategic goals we must ensure consolidation of the African Agenda by ensuring that we continue to engage with India, Brazil and China as part of consolidating our South-South relations. As part of our economic diplomacy, the ANC must continue to ensure that our consolidation of strategic North-South relations leads to changes in colonial patterns of economic relations and, in doing so, creates equitable and balanced North-South relations.
As a result, South Africa's principal foreign policy objective is to develop good relations with all countries, especially its neighbours in the Southern African Development Community, SADC, and the other members of the African Union. South Africa has played a key role in seeking an end to various conflicts and political problems on the African continent. The ANC's policy on international relations and co-operation could be summarised as saying that the ANC seeks for the government of the Republic of South Africa to seek meaningful bilateral and multilateral relations to ensure a more equitable political share for developing countries in the global arena where decisions are taken which, more often than not, affect these very same developing countries. It is our desire to see a world where all countries have an equal say in how the world is shaped, where especially African countries are allowed to seek their own destiny, with appropriate assistance being given when they ask for it, and to what end.
Being a respected country is not an end in itself. We would never achieve anything if we remained a lone voice in the struggle for the liberation of developing countries from want and poverty. That is why, again, we have to be grateful for South Africa's participation in the India, Brazil, South Africa, Ibsa, trilateral pact, which of course led to our participation in the Brics league of emerging economies. Together, these countries have produced a combined force able to challenge the existing power base, which is way too often dominated by the so-called "superpowers" of developed countries. As a Parliament, we need to thank the Minister and her team in the conclusion of negotiations that led to the Delhi Declaration of the fourth Brics summit, stating that the Brics nations committed themselves to assist South Africa in her sustainable infrastructure development programme - a feat indeed!
The Brics league of nations promises to bring millions of dollars in investment opportunities. Figures released in September 2011 by the World Bank and the IMF World Economic Outlook indicate that Brics countries have a combined population of 2 945,4 million people. The latest figures also indicate that South Africa's trade with Bric countries has increased, particularly from the period 2005 to 2010. Exports increased from US$16,6 billion in 2005 to US$94,7 billion in 2010, while Bric-Africa trade is projected to increase threefold, from US$150 billion in 2010 to US$350 billion in 2015. Brics foreign direct investment is projected to increase from the present US$60 billion to more than US$150 billion by 2015.
Our continued voice of reason in the G20 group of countries has, in the past, ensured that the development of so-called Third World and intermediary countries remained high on the agenda of world powers. The ANC has further given government the mandate to continue interacting with all UN member states to ensure that we break the monopoly of Western countries in the Security Council and that Africa is given permanent membership of the Security Council. These changes can only be effectively achieved by developing countries being taken seriously as active participants in world affairs. Therefore, it is critical that South Africa remains the champion in South-South relations. To this end, our involvement on our continent is of utmost importance. The placement of additional resources on these forums is crucial for the department. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, Comesa, the AU, SADC and the Pan-African Parliament should become the driving force for the department.
If Nepad is to succeed at all, it should be seen here, in Africa, where we should be seen as advancing democracy and adhering to the principles that we agreed to as a continent. President Jacob Zuma was quite correct at the fourth International Trade and Industry Conference hosted by the DTI at Sun City in the North West on 11 April 2012, when he said: "We are standing in an incredibly privileged position today, where we witness Africa's epic comeback."
However, as the ANC has stated over the years, Africa can only claim emancipation if she is allowed to attain sustainable growth and development unfettered, without any interference by the world - especially Northern countries who seek to have a hand in Africa's development, but only to the disadvantage of our continent.
As for North-South relations, South Africa, through the department, garners support from the developed countries of the North in order to deal with priority areas of government. These are education, health, rural development, creation of decent work and fighting crime. This is done through the establishment of relations that at times seem to be disproportionate power relations. This is in view of the fact that countries of the North are in themselves developed, whereas this cannot be said of the Southern countries, in this case South Africa. However, due to the outgoing nature of South African foreign policy, South Africa is able to engage in multilateral talks with countries of the North in the context of promoting the African agenda and the agenda of the South through our participation at summits with the G8 and G20.
In conclusion, it is indeed true that African countries, with the support of our real friends like China, India and Brazil, have the ability to ensure our own sustainable development and growth. The most recent example of this is the signing of a political accord between South Africa and the Republic of Ghana. In fact, Ghana admitted that South Africa would be a more valid, equitable and desired ally in its development programme than the Northern countries. We are looking forward, Minister, to seeing more agreements of this nature between South Africa and other African countries, as well as the renewal of existing bilateral agreements.
In December 2008, the US president-elect, Barack Obama, remarked on something his Chief of Staff said, namely that the current economic meltdown was "too good a crisis to go to waste". Indeed, during these trying times in world affairs, like the economic meltdown in Europe, never have we seen an opportunity of this magnitude to ensure Africa's development as a true force for international reform. South Africa will indeed be right there at the front, leading this continental revolution. The ANC supports this Budget Vote. Phambili Africa! [Forward Africa!] [Applause.]