South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor reiterated the country's commitment to the UN Charter and the necessity for developing countries to play a greater role in affairs of the UN and other international development institutions, the minister told reporters following the meeting of BRICS Foreign Affairs Ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
"Well, I think that what's happening here is there's a very strong assertion by countries of the South that they wish to see a different approach to the development agenda. So there is a very firm questioning of the current architecture, particularly with respect to the UN Security Council, where it's felt there should be more democratization and greater representativity of excluded regions of the world," she noted.
Moreover, Pandor expressed concern about financial situation in the countries of the Global South, noting that they fail to reach Sustainable Development Goals.
"In addition, we know that development of finance is not flowing as required to developing countries, and so many, many are lagging behind. There are significant amounts of poverty. We're not achieving the Sustainable Development Goals," the minister highlighted.
However, she stressed that there is "a strong voice coming out of the South," the countries of which are acknowledging their strength that should be used to promote "progressive agenda."
"So I think really it's a strong voice coming out of the South, a South that increasingly is better organized, a South that is realizing that it has muscle, and it must utilize that muscle in very concrete, organized terms. And I believe in terms of progressive ideals, this is a real opportunity to set a progressive agenda," Pandor concluded.
The foreign minister's opinion was echoed by Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Africa-China Studies, University of Johannesburg, Koffi Kouakou. Speaking about Africa's representation on UNGA, the expert said in an interview with Sputnik Africa that African presidents are starting to shape up their narrative about the continent, trying to revive the continent "that matters in global affairs."
On September 19-23, New York is hosting the UNGA, which provides the African leaders with the opportunity to speak out on global issues from the continent's perspective, as well as present their position on different aspects of international relations.