Dirco, Zille call for dialogue and an end to conflict in the Middle East at Iftar dinner

DA Federal Council chair and Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille addressing the Iftar dinner. Picture: Supplied The South African government has urged the warring parties in the current Persian Gulf conflict – the United States, Israel, and Iran – to pursue dialogue as the path to peace. Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Thandi Moraka, delivered the message during her address at an Iftar dinner marking the end of the day’s fasting, hosted at the Nizamiye Mosque in Midrand Thursday night.

Moraka noted that she had left the Southern African Development Community Council of Ministers gathering to attend the dinner, underscoring its significance. She stressed that global disputes should be resolved through diplomacy rather than force of arms. Moraka described the current geopolitical climate as one marked by turmoil, with military force increasingly replacing peaceful solutions.

She pointed to conflicts in the Middle East, the four-year war between Russia and Ukraine, and ongoing violence in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo as evidence that dialogue, once the cornerstone of international relations, is being eroded. She called for joint efforts to find peaceful resolutions and commended those mediating in the Persian Gulf conflict. Addressing the Muslim community during Ramadan, she urged their prayers for peace in war zones worldwide.

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Moraka also lauded South Africa’s foreign policy, which she said is rooted in Pan-Africanism, respect for the rule of law, human rights, and democracy. She said that South Africa’s global reputation rests on these principles and its ability to unite in diversity despite a history of racial conflict. Reflecting on the country’s recent celebration of 30 years of democracy, she reminded the audience that freedom was won through sacrifice by the country’s forebears.

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