The leaders will meet at the White House on Friday, September 16, to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest, including trade and investment, climate change, food security, energy, and peace and security. Photo: Jairus Mmutle.
President Cyril Ramaphosa departed on Wednesday for Washington DC in the US where he will honour an invitation by President Joe Biden for engagement between the two leaders.
The leaders will meet at the White House on Friday, September 16, to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest, including trade and investment, climate change, food security, energy, and peace and security.
The presidency says President Ramaphosa will reaffirm the importance of the strategic and mutually beneficial relations between South Africa and the United States.
“The president will further emphasise the need for enhanced multi-lateralism and dialogue as the means through which the challenges facing humanity can be addressed.
“These include the urgent need to stimulate economic recovery in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
In Washington DC, Ramaphosa and his delegation will meet Congressional leaders and the veterans of the Civil Rights Movement who were instrumental in lobbying the American public against apartheid and who remain loyal to the cause of anti-racism in both the US and South Africa.
The US is a major export market for South Africa, a significant source of foreign direct investment (FDI), technology transfer, development assistance and tourism.
The US is South Africa’s third largest trading partner (after China and the EU), with more than 600 US companies operating in South Africa.
In 2021, the US ranked as the second largest destination for South Africa’s exports globally.
The US accounts for 17.4% of total South African outward FDI to the world, according to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC).
IOL