Ramaphosa to meet Trump amid strained diplomatic ties
President Cyril Ramaphosa will travel to the United States next week for a high-level meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, as both nations navigate heightened diplomatic tensions.
The four-day state visit comes at a sensitive time, following a series of foreign policy disagreements and a controversial U.S. decision to grant refugee status to 49 white South Africans — a move that Pretoria has strongly opposed.
The individuals, identified as Afrikaners, left South Africa for America earlier this week and claimed they faced racial persecution and "white genocide" in South Africa.
Ramaphosa and South African authorities have widely discredited and dismissed these claims.
On Monday, Ramaphosa publicly rejected the legitimacy of the 49 Afrikaners' refugee claims, asserting they do not meet the international criteria for refugee status.
“Those who are spreading misinformation to divide South Africa are anti-transformation and wish to return the country to its apartheid past,” he said.
“Those people who have left are not being persecuted, hounded, or treated badly, and they are leaving because they don’t want to embrace the changes that are taking place in our country in accordance with our constitution.”
Ramaphosa made the remarks during an address at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, emphasizing that genuine refugees are those who flee their home countries out of legitimate fear for their safety — not individuals resisting constitutional transformation.
His party, the African National Congress (ANC), has echoed his comments, accusing conservative groups and certain international actors of exploiting false narratives to discredit South Africa’s progress since the end of apartheid.
The Presidency has framed Ramaphosa’s visit as a strategic opportunity to reset relations with Washington and to engage on pressing bilateral, regional, and global issues.
Diplomatic friction between the two countries has been mounting in recent months, leading to the expulsion of South Africa’s ambassador to the USA in March.
The fallout stemmed from conflicting stances on both domestic reforms and foreign policy alignments.
ALSO READ
