South Africa’s foreign policy prioritises peaceful and sustainable growth in Africa by maximising its external engagements in increasingly strategic ways. Until now, Brazil has formed the pivot of South Africa’s engagements in South America, with the effect that engagements in other significant Latin American countries have been left by the wayside. Shared commitments to South–South co-operation and global governance reform account for this skew in relations. This paper proposes avenues for South Africa to expand the scope of its engagement in more substantive ways that not only capitalise on the strategic importance of South America but also propel a greater African orientation of South Africa’s foreign policy. The paper calls for South Africa to consider broadening its engagement with Latin America by reconceiving it as part of a South Atlantic Zone that includes the African and South American littoral states of the South Atlantic.

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Authors: Aditi Lalbahadur, Neuma Grobbelaar and Rudolf du Plessis, South African Institute of International Affairs