Pretoria says the visit is “resetting” ties with Washington after the US welcomed dozens of white Africans as refugees.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will attempt to “reset” relations between the two countries by meeting President Donald Trump at the White House next week, Pretoria said.
The reported visit comes after the US welcomed dozens of white Africans as refugees this week.
“President Ramaphosa will meet with President Donald Trump at the Washington, D.C., to discuss bilateral, regional and global concerns,” the South African president said in a statement Wednesday.
“The President’s visit to the US provides a platform to reset strategic ties between the two countries,” he added that the trip will take place from Monday to Thursday, with the two leaders meeting on Wednesday.
The White House did not immediately comment on the meeting. This will be Trump’s first time with leaders from Africa since taking office in January.
Since Trump returned to the White House, relations between Pretoria and Washington have deteriorated significantly.
Trump has criticised Ramaphosa’s government on multiple fronts. In February he issued an executive order cutting all US funds to South Africa, citing the disapproval of the land reform policy and genocide incident at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against U.S. Ally Israel.
“The wrong end of the stick”
Trump’s order also offered to bring people from the minority African community to resettle. He claims that they are being persecuted and killed for their race and claims disproved by the South African government.
Africans are descendants of the largely Dutch colonists who led the apartheid regime for nearly 50 years.
Pretoria argues that there is no evidence of persecution of white people across the country as South Africa suffers overall from the issue of violent crime, regardless of race, and Ramaphosa says that he “has a false end to the stick.”
The US criticism also appears to focus on South Africa’s positive behavioral laws that advance opportunities for the vast majority of black populations that have been suppressed and disenfranchised under apartheid.
The new Land Employment Act gives the government the authority to take land in public interest without compensation in exceptional circumstances. Pretoria says the law refers to unused land that can be redistributed for the public interest rather than a tool for confiscation, but some African groups say that their land can be redistributed to a portion of the country’s black majority.
According to data, white people, which make up about 7% of South Africa’s population, own more than 70% of the land, accounting for most of the country’s top management positions.
Ramaphosa has repeatedly spoken about her desire to be diplomatically involved with Trump and improve relations between the two countries.
The United States is South Africa’s second largest bilateral trading partner, after China.
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