“South Africa Always Seeks to Comply with the FATF Globally Recognised International Standards,” Asserts South African Ambassador to Iran.

In an exclusive interview with AVA Diplomatic, South Africa’s ambassador to Iran considers U.S. sanctions against Iran to be the biggest challenge in the relations between the two countries and also the main obstacle to investing in joint projects. In this interview, Mr. Khumalo, while pointing out the non-provision of guarantees from the United States about another withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran, presented his proposal for the revival of the JCPOA and expressed his hope for the further expansion of ties between Iran and South Africa.

AVA Diplomatic’s Exclusive Interview with

Mr. Vika Mazwi Khumalo, South Africa’s Ambassador to Iran

Since your appointment as the South African ambassador to Iran, what economic projects between the two countries have been put into operation?

South Africa and Iran continue to engage on as well as explore a wide variety of economic opportunities, including in the sectors of energy and especially renewable energy, health, agriculture, water and sanitation, cultural heritage, tourism, science and technology, education, and the environment, just to name a few.

This interaction is further assisted and supported by a structured, broad political mechanism established by the two countries in 1995, called the Joint Commission for Cooperation. The Joint Commission is chaired by the Ministers responsible for Foreign Affairs and guides the political and economic interactions between the two countries.

Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic and difficult international environment have caused that some of the targets we set out to reach, such as increasing trade to US$2 billion per annum, will not be reached within the targeted time frames.

We also continue to be proud to refer to MTN, South Africa’s biggest investor in the Islamic Republic with a substantial share in the telecommunications sector in Iran. 

To what extent Iran’s non-accession to the FATF has affected Iran – South Africa economic relations?

Iran’s non-accession to FATF and its blacklisting by the Task force has not resulted in any real negative effects on Iran-South African relations. As you may well know, the purpose for this organisation is to set international standards to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Cooperation and compliance with these globally set out norms and standards make it easy for countries to detect and weed out such criminal transgressions.

 South Africa has one of the most progressive and advanced banking and financial sectors in the world. It is always seeking to comply with the FATF globally recognised international standards.

How optimistic are you about reviving JCPOA or drafting a new agreement? Iranian officials are worried that the future U.S. administration would again withdraw from this deal if the current administration returns to it. What is your point of view about it?

South Africa has maintained its position that ideally all parties to the JCPOA should implement all of their commitments to the Treaty. However, with current processes and negotiations underway we remain hopeful that an agreement could be reached that would be to the economic benefit of the Islamic Republic.

Whether the USA may withdraw in future from any agreement is for the USA to decide and in respect of their legal and political system it may be difficult to provide any guarantees. One way of possibly circumventing such a risk could be to enshrine in any new agreement a specific withdrawal process with notice periods or time periods, etc. to ensure that any withdrawal will be a process and not a sudden development. This could perhaps be one possible compromise if guarantees cannot be provided.

How much was the value of South Africa’s international trade in 2021? How much was Iran’s share in trade with your country that year?

There tends to be some challenges with the calculations of such trade and export figures.  Depending on the sources consulted, South Africa-Iran trade amounted to between US$110 million to US$258 million. What compounds specifically the true value of South African trade with Iran is the fact that many products are shipped to Iran through third parties and thus according to some statistics these trade statistics may not necessarily be a true reflection of the South Africa-Iran trade balance statistics.

As stated previously, the two countries made a commitment to elevate their economic engagements to a level of US$2 billion per annum. We will continue to strive to attain this commitment, despite the various factors that have contributed to these targets not being met within the envisaged time-frames.

What is the biggest challenge that obstructs the further development of economic relations between the two countries in the near future?

The biggest challenge remains the Unilateral Secondary Sanction’s Framework imposed by the USA. Although the Government of South Africa does not officially recognise the sanctions, cognisance is taken of their potential impact on a small and growing economy like ours. Most of South Africa’s big companies, banks and industries are globally linked to the international economy. These companies would be compromised and negatively impacted by such sanctions or black listings.

The further indirect implication of the sanctions, and especially the sanctions imposed on shipping lines as well as the financial and banking sector, is the resultant cost increases in landing or delivering products or conducting any financial transactions when possible. All of these trade/business impediments increase the cost of doing business. This further contributes to private enterprises not currently targeting the Islamic Republic as their main market for investment or trade destination.

When will the 15^th Joint Economic Commission of the two countries be held? What topics are on the agenda of this commission?

The 15^th Joint Commission on Cooperation will be soon hosted in South Africa. The Commission remains the primary mechanism through which South Africa and Iran structure their bilateral relationship; it encompasses a wide variety of technical committees that convene on a wide range of sectors to enhance cooperation within these sectors. Economic discussions are thus just one part of the Commission and one of the technical sectors that will be addressed.

Other specific areas of cooperation that will be under discussion and review include energy, health, agriculture, water and sanitation, cultural heritage, tourism, science and technology (nanotechnology), education, the environment and obviously the deepening of economic relations and cooperation.

How is the status of issuing visas for Iranian citizens during the Corona pandemic? How many visas were issued in the first four months of 2022?

South Africa, following its hard lockdown during 2020 has lifted, as many other countries, most of the COVID-19 restrictions. Since October 2020 no travel restrictions were imposed on any country, despite the many misguided restrictions imposed on South Africa, especially following South Africa’s identification of the Omicron variant.

Therefore, all Iranian travellers have been welcomed and continue to be welcome in South Africa.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on tourism, but through various initiatives of the South African Embassy and the Iranian Embassy in Pretoria, in cooperation with Iran’s tour operators and Tourism SA, we believe that we can restore and surpass the pre-COVID numbers quickly.

During 2022 for the period up to October 2022 the Embassy approved more than 1200 tourism visas. This number does not include the multitude of business or professional visits or student applying to study in South Africa.

What is the stance of the South Africa Government on the Russian invasion of Ukraine?

South Africa has remained equidistant in “choosing” a side, even when pressured or expected to do so. However, in not openly expressing a position in respect of a specific side does not mean that South Africa endorses the use of force or other violations of international and international humanitarian law, or remains unconcerned of a developing man-made humanitarian crisis.

It is within this context that South Africa has continued to call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, and an engagement through diplomatic channels. The further expectations is that the relevant regional organisation or organisations should play their role(s) in resolving the conflict (instead of fanning it) and finding a lasting solution by addressing the concerns of all parties involved.

How has this invasion affected the food security of the world and South Africa?

South Africa has not experienced any food security challenges such as shortages, etc. However, we have noticed the supply chain and inflationary pressures caused by this conflict, especially on food and energy prices.

The concern for any government is the impact of these shocks on especially the unemployed or vulnerable members of society that do not necessarily have the means to absorb the cost escalations.