Thank you. I am really happy to be here. This is my first visit as High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union to Africa since I took office in December.

I am very happy to be in this beautiful town. I can tell you that Brussels, compared to where I come from originally, is warm. So, this is very warm. I really thank you for your invitation here and also for the great hospitality.

We will continue to meet in the G20 format tomorrow in Johannesburg. It is also historic because it is the first time ever that it is hosted by an African country.

I very much look forward to our upcoming engagements, which will be guided by the same level of pragmatism, as well as by the values and principles that unite us.

You can count on the EU’s full support to South Africa’s leadership and ambitious G20 agenda. I am also convinced that both South Africa and the EU not only have an interest in working closely together, but will equally benefit from each other.

This positive mind-set is essential given the turbulent times that we have in the geopolitical context right now. We need to join forces as trusted partners. The EU is and will remain a reliable, predictable and credible partner.

We have on our agenda three very important events this year: the EU-South Africa Summit on 13 March in South Africa, the G20 Summit in November here as well, and the EU-African Union Ministerial and Summit which will hopefully also take place by the end of this year.

I know that President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen are very enthusiastic about their trip mid-March for the first Summit with South Africa since 2018.

Our relations with South Africa are critically important. We share with you, as strategic partners, a commitment to democracy, multilateralism, human rights, and sustainability.

Multilateralism is under threat right now, but I think that we also need to use this opportunity to develop the international system further to be more inclusive for all countries in the world, also taking into account the accountability issues and how we could prevent future wars. But we definitely look forward to work on this together.

Our partnership has considerably expanded and diversified over the years, on education, technology, trade, critical raw materials, energy cooperation. We have many areas of cooperation together and this is also reflected in the agenda of today’s meeting. We are going to discuss all these issues.

My ambition is to see this partnership further strengthened for the mutual benefit of our people, our societies and our economies.

I am very much looking forward to today and also the G20 meeting tomorrow, so thanks again for your warm hospitality.