Cape Town Conversation event discussed challenges faced by the Global South: Former South African President

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki on Sunday said the Cape Town Conversation event's 22 sessions discussed important, relevant questions including challenges of the Global South.

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki on Sunday said the Cape Town Conversation event's 22 sessions discussed important, relevant questions including challenges of the Global South. The discussions covered topics such as the stance of the Global South on various issues and the contributions the Global South aims to make in G20 processes. Mbeki urged that the richness generated during the event should not be lost but rather become instrumental in addressing the challenges faced by the Global South and fostering positive change in the world.

"The questions discussed during these 22 sessions are very important and relevant. From questions on where the Global South stands on different issues, what inputs does the Global South want to make on G20 processes, and so on," the former South African president said while giving his valedictory address during the Cape Town Conversation event. He said: "I don't think we should lose the richness that's been generated in the days that we have been here. Let it be part of the instrumentality that helps to change the world to address the challenges of the Global South."

'Cape Town Conversation' is taking place from November 24-26 in the coastal city of Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town Conversations serves as an annual South Africa-based platform that brings together key stakeholders and new voices. It is designed as a common platform where established and emerging actors convene for a global conversation on contemporary issues of global governance --identifying new challenges, ideating possible solutions and shaping the world order of the future.

In a session focused on global food security, South Africa's Minister for Agriculture, Thoko Didiza, emphasized the impact of global shifts caused by conflicts, pandemics, and climate change on food value chains. Meanwhile, Thoko Didiza while addressing the session "Food for All: How can regional cooperation ensure global food security?" said: "I have deliberately framed my reflections on the global Food Security challenges with some emphasis on the African challenge. I do so because global shifts that occur as a result of conflicts, pandemics and climate change tend to have a notable impact on food value chains."

The South African Minister said the COVID pandemic showed that responsive policy frameworks help avoid a situation of large-scale food insecurity. "In the (African Union) AU, for instance, the Specialised Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment ensured that member states intervened in such a way that agricultural production needed to continue within the sector--having been classified as essential. Trade among, and within, countries needed to continue to allow for trade on agricultural goods to support Food Security," she said.

Didiza said: "The pandemic showed us that responsive policy frameworks help avoid a situation of large-scale food insecurity. In the AU, for instance, the Specialised Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment ensured that member states intervened in such a way that agricultural production needed to continue within the sector--having been classified as essential." She said: "Trade among, and within, countries needed to continue to allow for trade on agricultural goods to support food security."

Speaking on the Ukraine-Russia war, the South African Minister said: "The Ukraine-Russia war came at a critical point as countries were rebuilding. The responses by a number of countries to this conflict showed the vulnerability of our food systems. The approaches that have been taken by the UN, such as the Black Sea Deal, aim to allow countries to assist in the movement of agricultural goods so as to avoid a global food shortage."(ANI)

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