 "South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. AFP")
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is all set to meet his American counterpart, Donald Trump, in the White House on Wednesday as relations between the two countries took a hit this year.
Ramaphosa is hoping to “reset” South Africa’s relations with the US, as Trump and his ally Elon Musk, an African himself, have accused Pretoria of “genocide” for “mistreating” white citizens of the country.
Interestingly, Ramaphosa was the chief negotiator for Nelson Mandela’s ANC during talks to end white-minority rule in the early 1990s. The discussions between the two leaders will clear a lot of air about their tense relations.
Ramaphosa may also come bearing gifts, with reports that his government will offer Trump advisor Elon Musk a deal to operate his Starlink network in the country.
The issue of white Afrikaners
Last week, a group of around 50 white South Africans arrived for resettlement in the United States.
Trump essentially halted refugee arrivals after taking office, but is making an exception for the Afrikaners despite Pretoria’s insistence that they do not face persecution in their homeland.
Speaking at the White House shortly before the group’s arrival, Trump said the Afrikaners were fleeing a “terrible situation” back home.
“It’s a terrible situation taking place,” the president said. “So we’ve essentially extended citizenship to those people to escape from that violence and come here.”
Ramaphosa, on the other hand, called all of the white Afrikaners who have relocated to the US as refugees “cowards” and claimed that “they will be back soon”.
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More Shorts“As South Africans, we are resilient. We don’t run away from our problems. We must stay here and solve our problems. When you run away you are a coward , and that’s a real cowardly act,” he said.
The Israel-Hamas issue
US and South Africa have been at a crossroads for quite some time.
US State Secretary Marco Rubio referenced South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel, one of the United States’ closest allies, of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The Trump administration has also cut aid, announced 31 per cent tariffs, and expelled Pretoria’s ambassador after he criticised Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
Trump to skip G20?
Meanwhile, Rubio has announced that Trump will not be travelling to South Africa to attend the G20 Summit later this year.
Rubio said, “We chose not to participate in this year’s G-20, hosted by South Africa, either at the foreign ministers level or the presidents level. They clearly, on the global stage and in multiple multinational organisations, have consistently been a vote against America’s interests time and again.”
With inputs from agencies