What You Need to Know:
Fikile Mbalula, Secretary-General of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress has announced in a statement on X (formally known as twitter), his intent to attend Moscow’s ‘Forum Of Supporters Of The Struggles Against Modern Practices Of Neocolonialism – For The Freedom Of Nations’ between the 15th and 17th of this month.
On the 15-17 February 2024, I will lead an ANC delegation to the Forum Of Supporters Of The Struggles Against Modern Practices Of Neocolonialism – For The Freedom Of Nations, in Moscow, Russia. #ANCAtWork pic.twitter.com/RI3p4IvuZn
— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) February 13, 2024
Currently, a full list of nations attending the forum has not been released, although South Korean news agency Yonhap, has reported that a North Korean delegation may attend. Additionally, Sputnik– a Russian state-owned news agency has reported that the Central African Republic’s President, Faustin-Archange Touadera will also attend.
The Details:
A January 26th article published by Alexey Drobinin, Director of foreign policy planning at the Russian Foreign Ministry titled, “Neocolonialism and our efforts to fight it”, claims that uneven development among nations began after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Drobinin goes on to state, “the Anglo-Saxons and other Western nations continue their well-worn practices such as plundering other countries. Only today, they wrap it up in slogans hailing freedom, democracy and progress. This is modern neocolonialism. The tangible consequences of their policies include dangerous distortions in the global economy and imbalances in the global distribution of labor and income. Attempts are being made to resolve the problems caused by their neocolonial practices by manipulating energy, food, financial and other markets.”
What exactly the forum is to cover is not yet known, but the forum itself is likely in preparation of the creation of a permanent multilateral structure to fight neo-colonialism.
So, What Now?:
Mbalula’s upcoming visit is likely to further inflame tensions between the ANC and the United States, as earlier this week the ‘SA-US Relations Review Bill’ was introduced to Congress following South Africa’s case of Genocide brought against Israel, a key US ally, at the International Criminal Court last month.
Furthermore, Mbalula’s visit further indicates the ANC’s intent to cement itself among the ‘anti-western bloc’ which is likely to have unintended consequences on trade, particularly in regards to its African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) eligibility.
South Africa benefits heavily from the American Act, which provides eligible nations with duty-free access to the American market on thousands of products.