President Cyril Ramaphosa has described his bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump as “robust and fruitful”, signalling a new chapter of engagement between South Africa and the United States, particularly in trade and investment.
Speaking to the media after his meeting with Trump, Ramaphosa said the leaders had had an “in-depth and positive exchange”, not only on lighter matters such as golf, but critically on economic cooperation and mutual concerns.
“We had a really good bilateral …which you will all have observed, and we were able to have a robust engagement with Mr. Trump in your presence.
“Following that engagement …we retired to the cabinet room for lunch. We were then able to have really good in-depth exchanges with President Trump and his other officials,” the President said on Wednesday.
A major outcome of the meeting was a renewed commitment to sustained engagement between the two nations, especially at the trade and industry level.
Ramaphosa said discussions would continue on several key matters, including investment flows, tariff structures, and access to the US market through frameworks such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
“I want to confirm that there will continue to be engagement between South Africa and the United States officials, particularly at the trade and industry level, to deal with the package of issues that we had tabled that have to do with trade and investment.
“I was rather pleased that there's a firm agreement and undertaking that we are going to continue engaging, so there's no disengagement. For us, that was one of the key outcomes that we had wanted.
“Our objective in coming here was to reset relations between the two countries and to reposition our relations, which had become contaminated by some of the issues that had been raised during the engagement,” the president said.
He said the bilateral dialogue was an opportunity to clarify concerns and address misconceptions.
“It turned out that President Trump’s concern is about the safety of the people of South Africa. Much as he zeroed it down to white farmers, we kept saying there is a security problem and we are not running away from that. There is criminality.
“We even sought to deal with it from its genesis... When the economy is not growing, when there is poverty and when there's unemployment, one of the social ills that we get as a derivative is criminality that spreads itself around the country.
“It's not only in farms – it's in rural and even urban areas. He [President Trump] expressed his views on that, and I was rather pleased that a number of our compatriots were able to deal with that,” said Ramaphosa.
On the economic front, President Ramaphosa reiterated South Africa’s call for increased foreign direct investment from the United States, noting that US companies already played a vital role in the economy. He cited a recent American investment in a local lithium company as an encouraging sign of continued interest.
"In the discussions over lunch we didn’t dwell on that issue. However, he did ask what help do we need as a country.
“The main thing we said, in terms of assistance, is investments …We require more investments from the United States, and we require a more positive disposition from the United States, because once the United States government and the President emit a very positive disposition towards South Africa, it unlocks a lot of investments, and investors would then be willing to come and invest their money.
“We want foreign direct investment. We want to keep the jobs that we have that have been created by US companies, and we want more and more US companies to come and invest.”
Ramaphosa, who currently chairs the G20, said he urged Trump to attend the upcoming summit in South Africa.
He said they stressed that, as the G20 had been formed by the United States, together with other countries, it was important that the United States should continue playing a key role. “I want to hand over the presidency of the G20 to President Trump in November, and I said he needs to be there.
“I don't want to hand over the Presidency of the G20 to an empty chair (sic). I want to hand it over to him, sitting in that chair in November, and he is going to give serious consideration to it. In fact, I expect him to come to South Africa,” the president said.
Ramaphosa described the meeting as a “great success”, saying it had fulfilled South Africa’s key objectives.
“I do believe that our visit here has been a great success. We've been able to achieve what we set out to achieve: re-engagement with the US, to put the issues of investment and trade on the table, and to ensure that we continue engaging through the various other formations. All in all, I'm rather pleased I go back [home] having a sense that we have done well.”
Back home, President Ramaphosa was widely praised for maintaining his composure during what many South Africans had anticipated might be a tense encounter.
“I know that many South Africans were filled with a great deal of concern …but that did not ensue,” the President said, referencing public expectations of confrontation.
“I know that the media wanted to see drama and something really big happening, and I’m sorry we disappointed you somewhat in that regard,” he said with a smile.
The meeting at the Oval Office was attended by senior US and South African officials. The South African delegation included Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, and Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen.
In addition, the president was accompanied by Johann Rupert, the Founder of Richemont and Chairman of Remgro; Vice President of Business Unity South Africa, Adrian Gore; and President of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, Zingiswa Losi.
South African pro golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen also attended in a show of support. – SAnews.gov.za
