MOSCOW: South African governing ANC party has said that it had sent some senior officials to Moscow to discuss “recalibration of the world order” with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s party.
The South African party said that the trip follows an invitation from United Russia Party, the largest political party in Russia and a longstanding friend of the ANC.
It further said that the activities will include debates on the recalibration of the world order to reverse the consequences of neo-colonialism and the formerly prevailing unipolar world.
Moscow and new world order
Russia has been looking for several years to enhance its political and economic relations with nations across Africa, and on Friday, President Putin signed off on a new foreign policy intended at restraining Western “dominance”.
South Africa has declined to condemn the invasion of Kyiv that has largely isolated Russia on the world stage, adding it wants to stay neutral and prefers talks to end the war.
The South African party delegation led by Obed Bapela, who heads the party’s international relations commission, arrived in Moscow on Thursday and is likely to stay until Sunday.
South Africa is also due in August to host a BRICS meeting, the bloc grouping the emerging economic heavyweights Russia, Brazil, China, South Africa, and India.
In February, South Africa also hosted a joint military exercise with China and Russia, while Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov also paid an official trip to Pretoria in January.
South Africa’s relations with Moscow date back decades, when Russia backed the ANC in its war against apartheid.
