President Cyril Ramaphosa has a busy next three months that will see him undertake working visits to a number of countries and host several other global leaders until the end of December.
According to an itinerary released by the Presidency on Tuesday, Ramaphosa is “preparing to undertake a number of bilateral and multilateral engagements in coming weeks in which he will advance partnerships for growth and development in South Africa and for global solidarity, security and inclusive prosperity.”
“South Africa’s programme of economic diplomacy is a key lever for the realisation of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan to rebuild the economy,” presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said.
He announced that Ramaphosa would this month host President Brahim Ghali of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic for deliberations in Pretoria as well as welcome Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of Spain to South Africa for discussions on relations between the two countries.
“Still in October, President Ramaphosa will undertake a working visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in fulfilment of a planned visit the President postponed in April 2022 to focus on government’s intervention in the KwaZulu-Natal flood disaster.”
Saudi Arabia is South Africa’s second largest trading partner in the Middle East and largest source of imports from the region.
“The exchange of political and business visits, as well as trade and investment exhibitions and seminars by both countries in the past years have had a positive effect on trade and investment trends,” Magwenya said.
Ramaphosa is expected to participate at the global climate change conference to be held at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt in November where global leaders, non-governmental organisations and private sector delegates would discuss action on climate and sustainable development goals.
After Egypt, the South African leader would undertake a visit to Kenya for his first engagement with recently elected President William Ruto, “with a view to expanding trade between the two countries and enhance people-to-people relations between two significant economies in their respective regions.”
“Still in November, President Ramaphosa will participate in the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, where leaders of the world’s major developed and emerging economies will hold discussions on global priorities advocated by Indonesia during its term as the G20 Presidency.”
These priorities include the global health architecture, sustainable energy transition and digital transformation.
“Later in November, President Ramaphosa and First Lady Dr Tshepo Motsepe will honour an invitation by His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom to undertake a State Visit to the United Kingdom,” Magwenya said.
South Africa and the UK share a wide array of mutual interests and continue to deepen collaboration to resolve global challenges, the official said.
Ramaphosa is due to host President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela for bilateral discussions in Pretoria.
Venezuela is a strategic partner of South Africa in Latin America, especially in the context of South-South cooperation as well as the potential for future economic partnership due to its abundant oil and gas reserves.
JN/APA