By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa and India share a common vision of a peaceful, prosperous and inclusive world where the voices and aspirations of the Global South are heard and respected, said former South African President Thabo Mbeki at the annual think tank event ‘Cape Town Conversations’.
In his keynote address at the inaugural session of the ‘Cape Town Conversation’ on Friday, Mbeki highlighted the importance of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and added that the “Global South need to get together on what to be done by 2030 for SDG.”
The Foundation of G77 plus China shows Global South interest in international trade. In September, UNGA assessed SDG, and only 15 per cent of the targets were achieved and would need 3-4 trillion dollars to realise SDG. This again gives challenges to the Global South. Global South need to get together on what to be done by 2030 for SDG,” he added.
Mbeki welcomed everyone to the event and said, “It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to Cape Town Conversation, a unique platform for dialogue and cooperation among the countries of the Global South. This is a testament to the strong and enduring partnership between ourselves and India, which dates back many years and has been enriched by centuries of cultural, economic and political interactions.”
Together, we share a common vision of a peaceful, prosperous and inclusive world where the voices and aspirations of the Global South are heard and respected. We are gathered here today at a critical moment in the history of the world, during which we are witnessing a renewed drive for a multipolar world order and genuine multilateral cooperation based on the UN Charter,” he continued.
The former President underlined that the Cape Town Conversation has brought everyone together in order to make a contribution to the very necessary and continuing effort of the Global South to advance its interests globally.
Meanwhile, Samir Saran, the President of the Observer Research Foundation and Chair of Think20 India Secretariat also spoke at the event and said that the year 2023 will be remembered for two things, which includes India’s G20 Presidency and South Africa’s BRICS presidency.
Day 1 & 2 of the ‘Cape Town Conversation’ event comprised of three sessions: An ‘Inaugural Session’, a ‘Plenary Session’, followed by an inaugural dinner and a third session called the ‘Red-Eye Session.’
Speaking on the sidelines of the ‘Cape Town Conversation’ on Sunday, Day 3 Mbeki told journalists that banks complicit in the scheme to manipulate the rand should be brought to book.
Almost 30 commercial banks are under fire for alleged price fixing involving the South African local currency.
“The matter about the manipulation of the rand is nothing new, it happens with all of these tradeable currencies. I remember an instance when they did that in London with the British pound.”
Mbeki called on the Competition Commission to get to the bottom of the issue.
“I thought I saw that some of the banks are saying they are ready to cooperate, to tell the truth, including about who else was there.
“I think it’s very important that action should be taken against culprits but I think it’s a very important process, and it’s important that some of the banks want to come clean.”
Cape Town Conversation’ is taking place from November 24-26 in the coastal city of Cape Town, South Africa.
Watch Live in the video below:
Video Courtesy of TMF.