Madame President of the National Assembly,
Madame President of the National Council of Provinces,
President of the Republic,
Ministers,
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you, Madame President, for your warm words of
friendship for Italy and myself. The sentiments are mutual, and I return
your good wishes with all my heart.
Your invitation to speak before the South African
Parliament is a great honour for Italy and myself.
After so much suffering and injustices, the principles
of popular sovereignty, democracy, freedom, equality and human rights, of
which Parliament is the guarantor, have taken shape in the spirit of
reconciliation and peace that makes your country an example for the entire
world.
Your ability to overcome the arbitrary and cruel
divisions of the past and unite your efforts in pursuit of the common good
while preserving diversity are strong elements for confidence and hope.
The ideals of democracy and justice for which you fought are a source of
inspiration for the rest of Africa and the entire world.
All Africa needs the energy, democracy, good
governance, and economic dynamism of South Africa.
You are a model for the Continent: an example of
democratic institutions, of an advanced, modern economy, of triumph over
internal conflicts, of sustainable use of the natural resources in which
Africa abounds, of successful protection of the environment.
Africa renaissance is contingent on your endeavours.
The countries of the African Union have shown their awareness of that:
they welcome the initiative advanced by President Mbeki and together with
him launched the New Partnership for Africa’s Development in Lusaka last
year.
The West, Europe and Italy have also acknowledged that:
they gave their support to the New Partnership, committing themselves to
its success.
You – we - must not fail.
I am well aware of the difficulties: inequality and
injustices; crime and other threats to security; the scourge of diseases;
the anguish of poverty.
Nevertheless, you have shown that it is possible to
overcome obstacles that once seemed insurmountable.
Madame President,
South Africa’s bonds with Italy are strongly rooted
in the dynamic Italian community that has formed over the last two
generations. We are delighted that so many Italians can identify with the
rainbow of colours of this nation, and we are proud to be part of this
society with its wealth of languages and ethnic groups, and to have
contributed to it with our culture, creativity and industry.
For decades, while the clouds of apartheid darkened
South Africa’s relations with the rest of the world, Italians felt a
close bond with the South African people in their struggle for freedom.
Official relations between the two countries were affected.
From solidarity we have now moved on to active
cooperation.
It is time to look to the future, South Africa is for
Italy a reliable and promising partner and friend.
I am convinced that the association between Italy and
South Africa can bear valuable fruit. My visit is taking place in
conjunction with specific initiatives to bring Italian business closer to
this country through increased investments, trade and industrial
collaboration, and to strengthen cultural and scientific cooperation.
The Association Agreement with the European Union,
currently being ratified by the Italian Parliament, greatly strengthens
the framework for pursuing mutually profitable cooperation.
An Italian-South African economic forum will be opening
in Johannesburg tomorrow, with the participation of some of Italy’s
major companies.
Our aim is to boost the already substantial two-way
flow of trade and investments.
The backbone of the Italian economy, the world’s
sixth largest, is formed by thousands of small and medium-sized firms that
join forces in local industrial districts. Increased cooperation between
us can help disseminate this culture of enterprise and encourage the
establishment of new economic activities within South Africa.
But development does not flourish with capital alone.
It is nourished by the entrepreneurial skills, methods and processes
capable to generate employment and competitiveness.
Yesterday, Cape Town hosted a scientific seminar that
resulted in an innovative form of cooperation between the Trieste Science
System and the South African scientific community and produced an
important declaration. The Cape Town Declaration on Science and Technology
for Sustainable Development was signed yesterday by the scientists of our
two countries and, in my presence, by representatives of our Governments.
This declaration puts an official stamp on a
partnership based not only on bridging the technological divide, but,
above all, on strengthening advanced training and basic research: both are
essential if Africa is to develop its human capital and nurture the many
skills needed to tackle its problems.
The Cape Town Declaration will also be an innovative
joint contribution by Italy and South Africa to the forthcoming World
Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, a few months from now.
The summit is a major commitment for your country, which hopes to make it
a turning point for greater equity and ethics in relations between South
and North.
Madame President,
The recollection of the meeting of Heads of State and
Government of the most industrialised countries of the world and eminent
leaders from the developing world, organised by the Italian Presidency of
the G8 in Genoa last July, is still fresh in my mind.
Before that meeting President Mbeki described to me his
vision for the revival of Africa and for cooperation with the
industrialised world. I was greatly impressed by this outlook and
convinced that it was the right path to follow, for three reasons:
- because the initiative was an African one;
- because through this initiative Africa was taking
responsibility for its own future;
- because it launched an ethical challenge to the
entire industrialised world.
In Genoa, Mr President of the Republic, you and the
Heads of State of Nigeria, Senegal, Mali and Algeria presented the
document approved by the Lusaka summit of the OAU establishing the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The shared intent of those
leaders made it clear to everyone that African rebirth had become the
aspiration of the entire Continent.
Partnership means eliminating externally imposed
constraints and making reciprocal commitments on the basis of shared
principles: good governance, rule of law, democracy, sound economic
management, dignified and fair working conditions, respect for human
rights. The Action Plan for Africa, to be submitted to the G8 Summit in
Canada in June, will be the response to this challenge.
Italy is proud to have played a part in focusing
attention on Africa’s problems and launching the Global Fund to combat
AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. We will honour our commitment in the new
partnership.
The conclusions of the Doha conference last November
bring new responsibilities for the industrialised world towards the
developing countries. These regard three areas: special terms for the
supply of essential medicines; technical assistance for capacity building
in creating and managing international trade and financial flows; and
access to markets.
The very conscience of humanity rebels against the
conditions of often extreme poverty in which over half of the human race
and the majority of Africans live.
Catastrophic wars like that in the Great Lakes region,
the existence of "stateless" nations such as Somalia and the
epidemics that threaten to decimate entire populations are not inevitable.
Honourable Members of Parliament
After the 11 September tragedy, Italy, South Africa and
the entire international community have tightened the bonds of solidarity
with the United States. The 11 September was also a tragic warning to the
effects of the interdependence of the international community. If we
tolerate regional instability, ethnic or religious conflicts or social and
economic inequalities, then we are doomed to witness other acts of
terrorism born of desperation.
Terrorism is an evil that must be eradicated.
For this objective to be met the fight against poverty,
marginalisation and disease must be waged with greater conviction and
intensity. This requires a much more determined and incisive effort by the
international community.
If the marginalisation of Africa is not stopped, none
of us will enjoy security and prosperity.
Here in South Africa, a nation finally reconciled with
itself had the moral strength to face its painful past. It has done so not
to seek vengeance but to gain in self-knowledge and understanding,
granting forgiveness to those who have asked for it and atonement for
those who needed it.
Different races, cultures and religions have succeeded
in breaking down the barriers behind which apartheid sought to confine
them, and to regain equal dignity in diversity.
The work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
chaired by Archbishop Tutu is a monument to political and legal
civilisation.
Under your guidance, President Mbeki, with the
commitment of the government and the country’s political leadership as a
whole and with the backing of the nation, South Africa offers a vision of
hope for the destiny of Africa in the 21st century.
I was in Robben Island this morning. I will always
carry with me the image of those walls and those gaols that tried, without
success, to stifle this nation’s cry for justice. For many long years,
Italians followed with trepidation the march towards freedom of the South
African people. Today I pay homage, on my own behalf and in the name of
the Italian people, to the victims of apartheid and to the great moral
strength and civil courage of those who have transformed their pain into
human and political co-existence for all.
I am encouraged by the many signs of hope that are
springing up on this continent.
Today, no African country is governed by the military.
The African Union has taken the historic decision not to embrace
governments formed out of coups d’état. In various African states
economic growth has resumed. Political systems are more open, the press
has more freedom, civil society is more mature and developed.
The example of South Africa has lent a strong impetus
to the growth in political participation.
Broad participation by citizens opens the way to
governments that are more responsible to their electorates, to improved
management of the economy and to the elimination of corruption, an
additional source of poverty, marginalisation and decay.
The democratic process is a source of prosperity for
all. I appeal to the leadership of Zimbabwe to stay the course of
democracy: democracy is the key to African rebirth.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the
peace in Mozambique, signed in Rome on 4 October 1992 at the end of 27
months of negotiations.
After the peace, Mozambique has proved itself capable
of introducing structural reforms and achieving very high rates of
economic growth.
Mozambique also serves as an example for other
apparently hopeless conflicts. I am thinking of Angola, where the
opportunities that have arisen must be seized; of the crisis in the Great
Lakes region, where South Africa, thanks in part to the mediation of
President Mandela, is playing an essential positive role; and, finally, of
Somalia, where Italy is working to find a solution to the crisis.
In putting its own house in order, Africa has reminded
the international community of its responsibilities and the commitments
they have made to promote the continent’s integration in the global
economy.
These include debt remission, improved terms of trade,
more substantial public and private financial flows, and more investment.
They also include a common commitment to defending the
cultural and natural heritage that enshrines the wealth and identity of
every nation. Italy and South Africa can pursue this commitment together
at the bilateral level and under the aegis of UNESCO, to which Italy makes
such a large contribution.
I am entranced by the beauty of your country: its
forests, which conserve and nourish a wealth of biological diversity, its
oceans, its underground treasures formed over millennia, its climate, its
colours.
These are some of the infinite riches of South Africa.
You should be proud of them and firm in your intent to bequeath them
intact to your children, your children’s children and the entire human
community.
Madame President,
President Mbeki,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In the first year of the 21st century Africa
took two historic decisions: it created the African Union and established
the New Partnership for Development.
By supporting the courageous choices freely made by
Africans, the international community has the historic opportunity to
extend the benefits of development to this Continent, to build a world
order that is more just and more secure for us all.
Italy is fully aware that Africa is the decisive
challenge of our era. Together with our partners in the European Union we
want to translate our association with Africa into reality, to the benefit
of the peoples of Africa, Europe, the west and the international community
as a whole.
I deeply feel the responsibility to say aloud to all of
you here today: the 21st century must belong to Africa.
Viva South Africa! Viva Italy! Viva the partnership
between the European Union and South Africa!