Media Statement

28 February 2023

Minister Naledi Pandor attends the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting and 2023 Raisina Dialogue in India

The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, will arrive in New Delhi, India, tomorrow, Wednesday, 01 March 2023, to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting (G20 FMM), scheduled to take place on 01 – 02 March 2023 and the Raisina Dialogue 2023, on 03 – 04 March 2023.

India assumed the Presidency of the G20 on 01 December 2022. The G20 Foreign Minister’s Meeting will be held under the theme: ‘One Earth, One Family and One Future’.

The Agenda for the G20 Foreign Ministers includes discussions on multilateralism; food and energy security; development cooperation; counterterrorism; counter-narcotics; global skills mapping and High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR).

On 03 – 04 March 2023, Minister Pandor will attend and participate in the Raisina Dialogue 2023, which is a flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics.

The Raisina Dialogue is co-hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs of India and the Observer Research Foundation. Held annually, it attracts high-level participants worldwide to debate and exchange views on topics aimed to address various global challenges.

On the margins of the two meetings, Minister Pandor will also have bilateral meetings with some of her counterparts, which include, the Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India, Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.  The discussions between the two Ministers are expected to focus on issues of mutual interest such as further enhancing the Strategic Partnership between South Africa and India. i.e., the promotion of trade, growing foreign direct investment and partnering in areas beneficial for both countries, such as skills exchange.

Relations between South Africa and India have strengthened and deepened considerably since the establishment of formal diplomatic relations in November 1993. During 2023 the two countries will also participate in several joint events to celebrate 30 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Furthermore, the two countries continue to work closely in several multilateral fora, most notably within the G20, BRICS, IBSA and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).

ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION

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