The eighth summit between the leaders of the EU and South Africa will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, on 13th March.
The President of the European Council, António Costa, together with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, will represent the EU. South Africa will be represented by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The summit is an opportunity to intensify the EU’s partnership with South Africa, which is a strategic partner for the EU in a challenging context of rising populism and geopolitical instability, - European Commission's statement reads.
South Africa is EU’s largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa, and the EU is South Africa’s first trade and investment partner.
The leaders will discuss the EU-South Africa bilateral relations, focusing on how to further cooperation on trade and investment,
the green and digital transitions, security and defence, energy,
research and development, critical raw materials, skills and education.
They are also expected to tackle the most pressing global and regional issues, including Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, the current escalation of violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the situation in Sudan and South Sudan.
The leaders are expected to issue a joint statement at the end of the summit.
EU-South Africa relations
The EU-South Africa strategic partnership has been in place since 2007.
High-level meetings are held regularly, including over 20 different sectoral dialogues, an annual human rights dialogue, ministerial political dialogues and the joint cooperation council (JCC).
The 16th session of the EU-South Africa JCC was held in Brussels on 15 January 2025 and the 16th the ministerial political dialogue held in Cape Town on 19 February were important steps in the preparations for the upcoming eighth EU-South Africa summit.
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The United States of America on Friday gave marching orders to the South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool declaring him ‘persona non grata’ - the latin phrase for “unwelcome person”.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has briefed Russian President Vladimir Putin on a finalised draft peace agreement with Azerbaijan in a phone call with Vladimir Putin. Kremlin said on that Friday conversation was initiated by the Armenian side.
At least five people were killed and 27 injured when a concrete beam from an under-construction expressway bridge collapsed on Rama 2 Road in Thailand. Authorities are searching for missing individuals as investigations into the cause continue.
Germany's election-winning conservative CDU/CSU bloc, led by Friedrich Merz, and the Social Democrats (SPD) have reached an agreement in principle with the Greens on a significant increase in state borrowing ahead of next week’s parliamentary vote.
Frederic Arnault, one of the five children of LVMH, opens new tab chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, will become chief executive of the group's high-end Italian cashmere label Loro Piana in June, the world's biggest luxury group said in a statement.
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