Chair, South Africa is a developmental state. The achievement of democracy provided South Africans with an opportunity to pursue economic growth, development and redistribution, so as to achieve a better life for all.
Our vision of the economic base of a national democratic society is characterised by, among others, a thriving and integrated economy that draws on the creativity and skills that our whole population can offer, building on South Africa's economic endowment to create employment opportunities for the benefit of all. It is also an economy that is connected to the world - benefiting from vibrant trade relations with North and South, and which is an integral part of a balanced regional economy that contributes to the growing prosperity of Africa. Guided by the preamble of our Constitution, we have committed ourselves to build a united and democratic South Africa, able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations. SADC aims to promote sustainable and equitable economic growth and socioeconomic development through efficient productive systems; deeper integration and co-operation; good governance, and durable peace and security in order for the region to emerge as a competitive and effective player in international relations and the world economy.
Ours, therefore, is an interdependent region. The linkages among Southern African states include formal and informal cross-boundary human and capital movements; infrastructure networks, and shared natural resources. It is this interdependence among Southern African states that must be exploited for greater regional integration. We should also be mindful that Southern African settler colonialism concentrated extraction and production mainly in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Angola. Therefore, the three became the principal poles of capital accumulation within the region, while neighbouring states became labour reserves, servicing the labour needs of the white settler colonies.
It is this understanding which enables South Africa to prioritise regional integration. Therefore, current negotiations on economic partnership agreements have the potential to reverse the gains we have achieved as a region. These trade agreements we entered into between 1999 and 2002 - what we call the Trade Development Co-operation Agreement, the TDCA - allowed us to have access to the EU markets as much as they had access to our economy. Realising that our economy is linked to that of the region, we have thus taken a decision, as a country, to negotiate as a bloc. Whilst these negotiations are going on, there are issues of dual membership that the region has to deal with, which I have also alluded to. They came as a result of colonial settlements.
The EU has sought to take advantage of such issues as well as the expiry date of the Cotonou Agreement, which is 31 December 2007, to force us, as a region, to agree on terms which are unfavourable to our future economic development as a region, which is very important for us for the achievement of a better life for all and all of our neighbours. Our region should not allow this.
A number of African, Pacific and Caribbean states will find themselves in a difficult trading environment with the EU if the 31 December 2007 deadline still stands as the EU wishes. We are also told that there is no alternative to the EPA negotiations which deadline is 31 December 2007. Even though most parliaments will be in recess during that time for ratification of such an agreement before the implementation of the new agreement, the EU finds it impossible to change the deadlines.
We, therefore, urge the EU to accept that forcing us to agree with the EPA outcomes that will be detrimental to ourselves and the region is detrimental to a developmental state, as well as the region, which is busy integrating itself. Therefore, South Africa, in the interest of the region of which we are an integral part, must reject with contempt the suggestions we have seen in the media recently that we, as a country, are blocking economic partnership negotiation processes.
As a region, we have come a long way to where we are now. We also understand our historical backgrounds and diversity. We should, however, not allow the EU to defocus us from developing our region. We should not allow the EU to push us to a point where we compromise each other's economies. Together we need to focus on accelerating our integration. United we stand, but if we allow the EU to divide us, we will certainly fall.
We must, in line with our African agenda, protect the unity of the continent and refuse to negotiate alone in exclusion of the region. Even if there are difficult challenges, we need to stand firm whilst working on improving our intraregional trade disparities. Poverty and underdevelopment is still prevalent in our region and in our country and the EU, in possession of EPA negotiations, where they are attempting to also smother the deadlocked Doha negotiations, must realise that that will be an injustice to the majority of the people of our country and our region. We should not agree to that. I thank you. [Applause.]