The Pact of the Future – adopted at the recent United Nations General Assembly – represents a generational opportunity for countries to make good on global commitments to development.

This is according to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who answered questions in the National Assembly on Thursday.

The President was responding to a question from a Member of Parliament (MP), who sought to establish what the pact means for the Republic and how it aligns to the country’s goals.

The Pact for the Future covers areas of global concern including sustainable development and financing for development; international peace and security; science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation; youth and future generation, and transforming global governance.

‘South Africa actively participated in the negotiations on the pact to ensure that it reflected, within the scope of a multilateral negotiations process, South Africa’s values and national aspirations.

‘The Pact of the Future is a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity
to forge global consensus and make progress on priorities such as the Sustainable Development Goals.

“We welcome the commitments made in the pact to place poverty eradication at the centre of all global efforts and for the developing financing gap to be closed,’ the President said.

He explained that the pact is aimed at forging ‘a new global consensus for the global community to protect the needs and interests of present and future generations’.

‘Through the pact, the international community reaffirmed its commitment to multilateralism and the values of the UN Charter. The pact recognised the need for the reform of global institutions by making them more representative of and responsive to today’s world.

‘It said that these institutions need to be more effective at delivering on the commitments that countries have made to one another and to their people. The pact is an opportunity to work collectively in a global governance system based on the foundation of the UN Charter and international law,’ President
Ramaphosa said.

For South Africa, the Pact for the Future reflects many of the key elements of the Republic’s international agenda.

‘The effective implementation of the actions contained in the Pact for the Future will make a significant contribution to building a better world and a better Africa,’ President Ramaphosa said.

Source: South African Government News Agency