"South Africa demands from Spain Education in skills that are not imposed from Europe but are those that Africans need. Many of those who come to Spain hoping for a better future do so because they lack the necessary skills to build that future in their own country". With these words, the South African Ambassador to Spain, Thenjiwe Mtintso, spoke at the first session of the conference Africa Summit, organized by the School de Derecho, under the degree scroll Sub-Saharan Africa in times of Covid. Transformation and Resilience. 

Journalist and activist, collaborator of Nelson Mandela in the struggle for human rights in her country, Mtintso has highlighted the close relations existing between Spain and South Africa since the mid 90's. "Spain has seen in South Africa a strategic partner within the international panorama", she pointed out. 

Mtintso has made reference letter to some data that confirm this fact. He cited that more than 150 Spanish companies have invested in his country over the last few years, generating close to 20,000 jobs work. Twenty-seven percent of the contracts are related to renewable energy programs and the application of new technologies. In addition, Spain is the 20th destination country for South African exports. At the peak of the pandemic, Spain exported products worth more than 1 .1 billion euros to South Africa and South Africa exported 749 million euros to Spain. 

At a classroom, in front of 70 students, Mtintso explained the Philosophy Ubuntu that Mandela promulgated, and explained the need for African leaders to work together, identify African problems and find their own solutions to those problems. He highlighted the launching of the process for the next 50 years, the diary 2063 of the African Unity (AU) , "The Africa we want", which seeks that Africans determine their own destiny and spoke of values such as peace, solidarity and resilience to achieve a prosperous Africa in a globalized world.

Recalling the values championed by Nelson Mandela, he urged the students to build the future they want now: "I assume you are not studying International Office for fun but because you want a better, more cohesive and prosperous world. You don't have to wait. The time to build the future you want is now".  

Mtintso highlighted the role played by his country in the participation of different organizations such as the African Union, The Southerns Development Community or the African Peer Review Mechanism, to watch over constitutional values and avoid anti-democratic regimes. In this sense, he referred to the fundamental role played by Spain in the mediation of diplomatic conflicts such as the one between Morocco and Algeria.

He then pointed to the consequences of the pandemic and the Covid-19 crisis as an opportunity "to promote equality between countries and establish international cooperation mechanisms". 

"Africa has learned to overcome first colonialism, then neocolonialism, corruption, all subject of diseases and now to the consequences of Covid 19 and the war for vaccines," he warned and concluded, "Covid has taught us that we need to face the future and recovery together. None of us will be safe if we are not all safe."