... 2022). At the level of heads of state or government, 45 countries of the region were represented in Washington D.C., while delegations from Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Guinea, Mali and Sudan were not invited (officially due to the suspended membership in the African Union). More telling, though, is that South Africa—alongside the Gambia, South Sudan and Zimbabwe—was represented at the summit at the level of its foreign minister. With that, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s participation in the St. Petersburg summit is virtually
certain
.
Obviously, ...
... case of Turkey; Sudan and Angola in the case of China; and East African countries in the case of India. It would seem that the Russian leadership is being cautious in this respect and is looking into the possibility of forming two test groups: large African countries (Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa) and a group of unstable Sahel states (the Central African Republic and Sudan). Time will tell whether this approach can help Russia come up with an African strategy [
13
].
In the end, diversifying its foreign political and trade contacts ...
... in 2005 to $20.4 billion in 2010
[30]
, while its trade with Africa in 2011 totalled $30 billion. And although South Africa accounts for just 2.5 per cent of the BRICS’ overall GDP, it is responsible for 11 per cent of BRICS’ trade with Africa
[31]
.
South Africa finances regional organisations, above all, the African Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and provides humanitarian assistance to the least developed countries in the region (South Sudan, Guinea, Rwanda). Five major ...
... Malema's
Economic Freedom Fighters
[5]
are gaining ground with their demands for nationalization and placing forcible pressure on the government.
Due to its economic weaknesses, the RSA is gradually losing its hold on regional leadership. Currently an African integration engine, South Africa is active in the African Union and the Southern African Development Community
[6]
. A weaker RSA would not only slow down integration processes but also politically emasculate the entire African continent and rule out the solution of regional ...
