Honourable Minister;

DGs in the Presidency and DIRCO,

Your Excellencies, High Commissioners and Ambassadors;

Members of the Diplomatic Corps;

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning and welcome to South Africa!

It is a privilege for me to welcome you to our country, which is going to be your home while you fulfil the important duties of representing your respective countries in the Republic of South Africa.

We would like first of all to thank you and your respective governments and peoples, for the support during the difficult period of the demise of our founding President, His Excellency Mr Nelson Mandela in December last year.

We were able to carry the pain and the heavy emotional distress of losing the father of this young rainbow nation because the world mourned with us and continues to celebrate Madiba’s life with us.

This past Monday, the people of the United Kingdom hosted a historic thanksgiving memorial service at the Westminster Abbey, honouring this global icon that we are so proud to call a South African.

We were truly humbled by this honour, which demonstrated that Madiba was indeed a citizen of the world, a man who represented what we all want to see in ourselves, regardless of which part of the world we live in.

Your Excellencies,

Let me reiterate, how happy I am to receive all of you today.

We extend a warm welcome to their Excellencies from Cape Verde and Papua New Guinea who will serve as non-resident representatives to South Africa.

It is also a great honour to welcome their Excellencies from Sudan, Palestine, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Ethiopia, Thailand, Oman, Pakistan, Haiti and Lesotho who will all be based in our beautiful capital, Pretoria, the famous Jacaranda city.

You have arrived in South Africa during an exciting year in which we mark 20 years of freedom and democracy. We have come a long way from a country that was a pariah state to a modern, vibrant democracy.

We have worked tirelessly to build a better life for all our people, especially those who were deliberately underdeveloped by the apartheid regimes.

Millions of South Africans now have water, electricity, sanitation and a host of other services which they did not have before.

That is why we say that we have a good story to tell, and that South Africa is now a much better place to live in than it was before 1994.

While we are excited about the strides we have made, our country still faces the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality.

We therefore still have a lot of work to do to continue improving the quality of lives of all especially the poor and the working class.

We have a good plan going ahead, the National Development Plan which outlines the type of society we want to be by the year 2030.

This Plan enjoys the support of our people and key stakeholders in the country. It is one of the greatest achievements of the current administration.

It provides a one road map for the whole country and makes planning easier and predictable.

Your Excellencies,

You have also arrived in our country during an exciting year of national general elections.

On the 7th of May South Africans will go to the polls to elect a government of their choice.

Given the fact that the black majority voted for the first time only in 1994, we value the right to franchise more than many other nations.

We fought long and hard for equal citizenship and for the right to choose a government that is based on the will of all the people.

You will discover, if you have not done so already, that ours is a vibrant democracy.

South African politics is not for the faint-hearted. 

The political contestation here tends to be robust and animated. South Africans do not hesitate to express themselves in whatever manner.

The reason is that for many decades if not a century, we did not have the right to vote and the rights to freedom of expression and association. South Africans therefore tend to use these newly-won rights vigorously.

When you see these highly spirited exchanges over the next two months, remember that is all part of the celebration of our hard won freedom and democracy.

Beyond the elections, work must continue to strengthen bilateral relations with your respective countries and governments.

We will be continuing with the good work we have done on international relations since the dawn of freedom.

In the past 20 years, we have advanced the African agenda for peace and development while contributing to South-South cooperation.

We have been involved in the implementation of NEPAD and the African Peer Review Mechanism, and built a security architecture that can respond rapidly to crises.

The SA National Defence Force has been involved in peace keeping and humanitarian operations in various African countries.

Another major achievement is our membership of the BRICS community of nations during this term, which has had enormous benefits economically for the country.

Going forward into the new term of government, we remain committed to playing our part in the mission of building a better Africa and a better world.

In the next five years we will continue to promote the quest for African solutions for African problems.

We will continue to help to strengthen African Union institutions so that the AU can better serve the interests of Africa’s people and to promote democracy and good governance.

We will contribute to the African agenda for industrialisation and regional integration for sustainable and inclusive development.

In this regard, we will continue to support intra-Africa trade. The number of countries in the African continent in which South African companies have invested has grown from 10 in 1994 to over 40 currently.

The quest for further economic cooperation opportunities continues.

We are committed to multilateral relations and cooperation, from matters related to world security to issues of climate change and solidarity with progressive movements and countries.

We will also continue to promote the reform of the UN Security Council so that it becomes more accountable, democratic and representative, and responsive to the needs of a world that has changed dramatically since its establishment.

We will continue to advocate for the reform of other global governance institutions such as the financial institutions, so that their decisions promote equity and fairness. Our participation in forums such as the G20 and the World Economic Forum provides this opportunity.

There is a lot that we will be working on with your respective countries to take forward these and many other international cooperation objectives.

We look forward to that cooperation.

Your Excellencies;

In the twenty years of our freedom and democracy, a better South Africa has emerged, and South Africa is a good story to tell. 

But, our work is not yet completed, there is still a lot more to be done, given the legacy of apartheid.

We continue to work harder each day, to fulfil the dream of the ANC and that of President Mandela, to build a united, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa.

I wish you all the very best with your stay in our shores.

In the midst of your very busy schedule, please do find some time to explore our beautiful country.

I thank you.