South Africa, Hostage to an Obsolete Ideology – U.S Think tank –

Led by the African National Congress (ANC), South Africa is still in the grip of outdated positions based on an obsolete ideology, underlined Paolo von Schirach, President of the U.S think tank “Global Policy Institute” (GPI). South Africa’s position vis-à-vis Morocco “is purely ideological and not fact-based”, von Schirach told MAP, noting that it is no surprise that this country manipulates events like the BRICS-Africa meeting scheduled for August 24 in Johannesburg to harm Morocco’s interests. This position shows bias and inability on the part of South Africa, that is notorious for a primary hostility towards the Kingdom and its territorial integrity, to recognize Morocco’s position based on history and legitimacy, he added. The President of the DC-based think tank further noted that such actions only fuel divisions in Africa at the expense of stability, unity and cohesion as the world faces a myriad of challenges. For the Kingdom of Morocco, there has never been any question of responding positively to the invitation to the “BRICS/Africa” meeting scheduled to take place in South Africa, or of taking part in this meeting at any level whatsoever, said an authorized source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates. In response to recent media reports referring to a hypothetical bid by the Kingdom to join the “BRICS” group, as well as its possible participation in the next “BRICS/Africa” meeting in Johannesburg, the same source stressed that this was not a BRICS or African Union initiative, but an invitation from South Africa, in its national capacity. “It’s a meeting organized on the basis of a unilateral initiative by the South African government”, says the same source, adding that Morocco has therefore assessed this invitation in the light of its strained bilateral relationship with this country.