The name change of the Department of Foreign Affairs to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation in May 2009 was in line with international trends and informed by the need to give greater clarity on the mandate of the department.
building and consolidating strategic partnerships to advance the country's developmental agenda the continued exertion of influence on global political and economic issues.
The AU is Africa's premier institution and principal organisation for promoting the continent's accelerated socio-economic integration, which will lead to greater unity and solidarity between African countries and people.
African Commission on Human and People's Rights.
The financial institutions, the African Central Bank and African Monetary Fund, and the African Court of Justice still have to be operationalised.
The primary objective of Nepad is to eradicate poverty, halt the marginalisation of Africa in the globalisation process, promote the empowerment and economic integration of women and achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs).
The SADC has been in existence since 1980.
South Africa and Indonesia were instrumental in the launch of the NAASP in Bandung in 2005 on the 50th anniversary of the Bandung Conference, which cemented Afro-Asian solidarity. The NAASP represents a commitment by heads of state and government to help build closer economic ties between Africa and Asia. The first NAASP Summit will be held in South Africa in 2010.
While Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan already rank among the foremost sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Africa, the significance of China and India, as sources of investment, is growing. South Africa's multinational companies are finding attractive investment opportunities in Australia, China, Indonesia and Thailand in diverse fields such as mining, minerals processing, electronic media and the petrochemical industry.
South Africa also plays a leading role in the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), which creates an opportunity for countries of the south to serve their economic interests.
South Africa's total trade with IOR countries stands at more than R140 billion.
Apart from strengthening trilateral cooperation, India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) countries are committed to collective efforts to reform the United Nations Security Council, as well as the international financial architecture and to take joint steps to mitigate the effects of the global financial crisis. The three countries have also agreed to redouble their efforts to promote transport interconnectivity through the adoption of cooperative maritime and aviation frameworks that will assist in facilitating the new intra-IBSA trade target of US$25 billion by 2015.
South Africa enjoys wide-ranging multilateral relations with Australia and New Zealand.
The UNDP has an office in Pretoria, which is headed by the resident representative, who is also the resident UN coordinator for all UN operational activities for development in South Africa.
South Africa ratified the African Youth Charter in May 2009, and deposited the instrument of ratification with the Commission of the African Union on 8 July 2009. South Africa was the 14th country to ratify the charter, which entered into force in August 2009.