- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa plans a working trip to the United States next week.
- He will meet President Donald Trump on May 21 to discuss various bilateral and global issues.
- The visit follows U.S. granting refugee status to 49 white South Africans, citing claims of racial discrimination.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to visit the United States next week for a working trip, where he will meet U.S. President Donald Trump on May 21.
South African President Ramaphosa to Meet Trump in Washington Next Week
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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to visit the United States next week for a working trip, where he will meet U.S. President Donald Trump on May 21, according to a statement from Ramaphosa’s office released late Wednesday.
The reported visit follows the U.S. decision to grant refugee status to dozens of white Afrikaners this week, amid widely discredited claims by Trump that “genocide” is being committed against white farmers in the predominantly Black nation.
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"President Ramaphosa will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of interest," South Africa's presidency said.
"The president's visit to the US provides a platform to reset the strategic relationship between the two countries," the statement added.
Relations between South Africa and the United States have sharply declined since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.
The U.S. president expelled South Africa’s ambassador and cut financial aid, criticising South Africa’s land reform policies and its genocide case against U.S. ally Israel at the International Court of Justice.
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South Africa defends land reform
In response, South Africa’s government defended the land reform policy as constitutional and aimed at addressing racial inequalities in land ownership since the end of apartheid in 1994, stressing that no expropriations have taken place so far.
This week, the U.S. granted refugee status to 49 white South Africans, labelling them victims of racial discrimination.
However, South Africa denies any evidence of persecution against white citizens, with President Cyril Ramaphosa stating that the U.S. “has got the wrong end of the stick.”
