The South African Consulate in Jeddah celebrated the nation’s 20th Freedom Day on Sunday, which marks the country’s first democratic elections held on April 27, 1994.

Consul General Ebrahim Edries thanked the Saudi government for helping South Africa in its times of need, and said there was a strong friendship between the two countries.

He welcomed the guests including Farid Azhar, head of finance and administration at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Makkah, and quoted the late Nelson Mandela: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. I felt fear myself more times than I can remember, but I hid it behind a mask of boldness. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear,” Edries quoted Mandela as saying.

He said South Africans had queued for many hours in 1994 to cast their votes. “For the majority of us, it was the first time that we had voted. Having been denied the vote because of the color of our skin, South Africans in the millions were all eager to usher in a democratic state and consign the unspeakable evils of the past into the dustbin of history.”

Edries said South Africa was now like a young person entering into early adulthood. Although this was happening at a time of global economic turmoil, the country has a good story to tell.

He said that since 1994, 3.3 million free houses have been built for the poor, access to electricity increased from 34 percent to 88 percent, access to clean water increased from 62 percent to 95 percent, and access to social grants increased from 2.5 million to over 14 million.

In 2012 the South African government was ranked the second most transparent globally, an indication of “how quickly our governance moved from the secrecy of the apartheid state to an open, transparent democracy.”

Edries said the 2012/13 Global Competitiveness report states South Africa has the world’s second best banking system. It is also ranked first for its securities exchange regulations, first for legal rights, first for auditing and reporting standards and first for the efficacy of its company boards. He said the country has a strong tourism industry, which remains a significant area for improvement in bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia. “South Africa’s natural beauty and world class hospitality ranks with the best in the world,” he said.

“We have made significant advances over the past year, increasing our bilateral trade by almost 70 percent. This is a remarkable achievement albeit predominantly in the area of petroleum exports to South Africa,” he said.