What do ‘Club Diplomacy’ multilateral groups like MIKTA offer South Africa and Africa?

Image: Getty, Abdulhamid Hosbas
Image: Getty, Abdulhamid Hosbas

The year 2019 sees Mexico coordinating MIKTA – the grouping of the like-minded states Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Australia – for the second time.

What are MIKTA’s objectives? What value do diplomatic groupings like MIKTA add to the international system? What are the positions of its members on diverse issues like climate change, protection of indigenous languages and Africa’s development? And how should South African and African actors interact with groupings like MIKTA?

The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) in partnership with the Embassy of Mexico and the other four MIKTA diplomatic missions in South Africa will explore these and other questions from the perspectives of young people who are part of our Youth@SAIIA programme. Learners from a cross-section of Johannesburg high schools will put pertinent issues to members of the diplomatic missions in an interactive, moderated discussion.

Programme

Welcome and introduction:
SAIIA and Embassy of Mexico on “What is MIKTA and why it matters”

Session 1:

What does MIKTA offer South Africa and Africa?
Moderated discussion with five diplomatic missions and youth
Q&A

Session 2:

MIKTA and BRICS – what room for clubs to collaborate?
SAIIA presents work on BRICS
Respondent: Dr Francis Kornegay from The Institute for Global Dialogue (TBC)
Q&A

Closing

3 Sep 2019