South African President Cyril Ramaphosa concludes a two-day working visit of the European Union on Thursday, where he will conduct a series of meetings on strategic partnership between SA and the EU.
President Ramaphosa kicked off the trip by touching down in France on Wednesday before addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
During a joint press conference with the EP President Antonio Tajani on Wednesday, Ramaphosa said: “Our presence here is to consolidate this relationship, to grow it and to make sure that it helps us address the challenges that we have as a country.”
The South African leader is expected to co-chair the 7th South Africa-European Union (SA-EU) Summit on Thursday with the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.
Issues to be discussed at the summit include progress on the SA-EU Strategic Partnership, including bilateral, political, and economical and development cooperation, as well as regional and global issues.
In 2019, South Africa will start serving as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council until 2020 alongside five EU Member States (namely France, the UK, Germany, Belgium and Poland).
According to a statement on the SA Presidency website, the EU is South Africa’s largest trading partner and largest foreign investor as a bloc, representing 73.7% of total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stocks in the country.
Ministers Rob Davies of Trade and Industry and Tito Mboweni of Finance are accompanying President Ramaphosa on his Europe visit.
