It can be a memorable year ahead

South Africa starts off 2011 with a considerably enhanced international diplomatic profile and it could become a memorable year on this front which will cement its position as the leading power on the African continent. There is also the promise of concluding it on a high as host of a major international conference at the end of the year.

On January 1 South Africa assumed its seat for a two year-erm as a non-permanent member for the United Nations Security Council, following its election to this body by 182 member states of the General Assembly on October 12, 2010. It is the country’s second stint at the Security Council, Following its first term in 2007 and 2008.

International Relations and Co-operation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said in a statement “It is a significant honour for South Africa to serve on the Security Council for a second term.”

She added that the country was committed to contributing to the work of the council in maintaining international peace and security, especially in Africa, and through this the betterment of the conditions and lives of all.

It is going to be a busy year for the country at the UN and that will topped off at the end of the year when the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP 17) on climate change will be hosted in Durban. After the huge disappointment of COP 15 in 2009 at Copenhagen and 2010’s non-event with COP 16 in Cancun, Mexico, the Durban meeting might be the last chance for the international community to get global cooperation on climate change back on track.

In the long term, however, the most significant recent development with the most potential for positive spin-offs was the invitation to South Africa to join the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) group of major emerging economies.

Some, and especially South African observers and commentators, have tended to downplay the importance and significance of this development as more about politics than economics and as really only reflecting expectations it will be the gateway for investment in the fast-growing Africancontinent.

“It's not a natural fit," said Razia Khan, Africa head of research at Standard Chartered. South Africa's economy is less than a quarter of the size of Russia's, which is the smallest in the original grouping. While it may be the largest in Africa, it is only a  little bigger than China's sixth-richest province.

The markets, however, seemed to have judged the development somewhat more positively and Reuters reported that South Africa's rand has strengthened since it was invited to join BRIC, partly in expectation of an inflow of funds from realigning BRIC portfolios.

Marvin Zonis, professor emeritus at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, said the impact from capital inflows will be limited, and long-term gains will come from how well South Africa can use its BRIC status to make itself more attractive for investment.

South Africa's biggest backer for BRIC has been its largest trade partner, China, which not only provided an invitation for Pretoria to join but also asked President Jacob Zuma to attend a summit of BRIC leaders it will host. "This is something that China sees in its own interest with its aim of understanding the future of Africa and becoming an ever bigger presence there," Zonis told Reuters.

"It is really smart on the part of China to do this and it is also really good for South Africa. It legitimises South Africa as a future global power and as an investable country," he said.

China emerged as Africa's largest trading partner in 2009, outpacing the European Union and the United States, China's People's Daily said.

BRIC has been seen as moving economic activity away from the established powers in Europe and North America and erecting a wall that limits their global power.

With sub-Saharan Africa's total economy growing from $322 billion in 2000 to $931 billion in 2008, according to the International Monetary Fund, it seemed that an African state would eventually join the group.

Martyn Davies, CEO of Frontier Advisory and a specialist on African-Chinese economic ties said "this will help South Africa project itself as a first tier emerging market rather than its current second tier status."