Ramaphosa, Trump set for historic face-to-face talks to mend US-SA ties

Ramaphosa

Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to meet US President Donald Trump in person to address the diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

The tensions escalated after Trump cut financial aid to South Africa, citing Pretoria’s actions in the International Court of Justice regarding Israel and its ties with Iran.

Further tensions arose after former South African ambassador Ebrahim Rasool made controversial remarks about Trump, leading to his expulsion by US officials.

Ramaphosa announced via social media this week that he and Trump had a phone conversation, agreeing to meet soon to address bilateral issues and strengthen ties.

“I spoke to President Donald Trump to discuss the peace process in Ukraine,” Ramaphosa said on social media.

The leaders had “agreed that the war should be brought to an end as soon as possible to stop further unnecessary deaths,” he said.

“We both agreed to meet soon to address various matters regarding US-South Africa relations.”

The two presidents are set to meet possibly during a US-Africa summit in the coming months, The Citizen reported on Sunday, citing Sunday Times. 

This will be their first face-to-face meeting since Trump became president.

“Both President Ramaphosa and President Trump have agreed on the need to meet soon and to work on resetting the bilateral relationship. At a personal level, both presidents interact in a cordial and friendly manner,” the report quoted Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, as saying.

Despite previous criticisms from Trump, particularly regarding South Africa’s Expropriation Act, both sides are now eager to normalise their diplomatic ties.

“It will be through their leadership that the relationship will be normalised. Teams on both sides will work on facilitating the meeting and obviously managing a number of scheduling and logistical considerations.”

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