South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor is in the Togolese Lomé for a meeting to discuss ways of harnessing the contributions of the African Diaspora and promoting the continent’s participation in global governance.
According to ministry spokesperson Clayson Monyela, Pandor would attend the launch ceremony for the 9th Pan-African Congress, which comes on the back of an African Union (AU) decision to establish a high-level committee to drive the agenda for the Decade of African Roots and Diaspora running from 2021-2031.
“South African support of the African Diaspora agenda has, in recent times, seen several developments,” Monyela said.
He added: “Most notably, the African Union’s Declaration of 2021-2031 as the Decade of the African Roots and Diasporas and the Africa and African Diaspora virtual conference held on 23-29 October 2021 in South Africa.”
The launch ceremony would kick off preparations for the 9th Pan-African Congress to be co-hosted by the AU and Togo in May 2024 under the theme: “The Aspiration of Pan-Africanism: Mobilize Resources, Join Forces, and Reinvent Ourselves to Take Action”.
The 9th Pan-African Congress is expected to present an opportunity for Africans living on the continent, the Diaspora and Afro-descendants community to meet and discuss.
It would also present an opportunity for African countries to find unique and relevant solutions aimed at improving Africa’s participation and representation in global governance, as well as its involvement in key reforms in international institutions.
South Africa has previously sponsored a decision to amend the AU’s Constitutive Act that was adopted by the assembly of heads of state and government.
The amendment sought to “invite and encourage the full participation of the African Diaspora as an important part of our continent in the building of the African Union,” Monyela said.
While in Lome, Pandor is expected to meet Togolese Foreign Affairs Minister Robert Dussey and other ministers to deepen “good diplomatic relations” between the two African nations established more than 25 years ago.
Source: apanews.net