Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa met His Holiness Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican in Rome, marking South Africa’s first high-level engagement with the newly appointed pontiff.
During the meeting, Ramaphosa called for renewed global solidarity, equality, and justice in response to rising conflict, inequality, and environmental crises.
“We will prioritise pressing issues, such as inequality, food security and the social, economic and environmental development of Africa and the Global South. Solidarity has been a defining characteristic of human development. The human impulse is not towards isolation, but towards community. We are drawn to one another, to conversation, to shared labour,” he said.
“It is through this solidarity that the strong discover their true strength: not in dominion, but in lifting up the weak. So too must the wealthy nations embrace their duty to the poor, in health, in education and in security, not as an act of charity, but to build a just world.”
Accompanied by International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola and his daughter, Keneilwe, Ramaphosa highlighted the importance of multilateralism, sustainable solutions, and collective action to address global challenges.
🇿🇦His Excellency President Matamela @CyrilRamaphosa meets with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.#SAinVaticanCity 🇿🇦🇻🇦#BetterAfricaBetterWorld 🌍 pic.twitter.com/mu3dhveFDH
— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) November 8, 2025
He stressed South Africa’s commitment, through its G20 Presidency, to promoting equality, peace, and the well-being of the Global South.
Ramaphosa also praised the Pope’s leadership in moral and spiritual guidance, noting that faith-based communities have historically supported democracy, human rights, and social justice. He linked South Africa’s own heritage of dialogue and reconciliation to its role in facilitating global peace and cooperation.
Today’s tête-à-tête between His Excellency President @CyrilRamaphosa and His Holiness Pope Leo XIV represents South Africa’s first high-level engagement with the newly appointed Pontiff.
His ascension to papacy on 8 May 2025 provides an important opportunity to reaffirm and… pic.twitter.com/iMctIcehr8
— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) November 8, 2025
Key topics discussed included climate change, debt relief for African nations, global inequality, and food security, with Ramaphosa emphasising that solidarity and shared responsibility are essential for a just and sustainable world.
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