US keen on strong ties with South Africa

The US and South Africa have taken steps to strengthen their ties as the President Joe Biden administration makes post-government of national unity (GNU) contacts with President Cyril Ramaphosa and promises to attend the G20 Summit to be hosted by South Africa next year.

Biden wasted no time to make a cross-Atlantic call to his South African counterpart, not just to congratulate him on his re-election to head the seventh administration, but to go deeper into refreshing the bilateral relations between Pretoria and Washington.

Their discussion was followed by a conversation between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and former international relations and cooperation minister Naledi Pandor.

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Observers saw this as a clear message by Biden that South Africa remained on top of the US agenda and that their relationship should go from strength to strength. State department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken expressed appreciation for their collaboration during Pandor’s tenure.

Areas of cooperation

He highlighted areas of cooperation between the two, such as global peace and security, expanding bilateral trade, advancing shared health goals and supporting renewable energy sources to address climate change and provide reliable power.

A statement from the US embassy in South Africa confirmed that Biden spoke with Ramaphosa to commend the country for forming a GNU and highlighted South Africa’s legacy as a democracy.

Biden, who is facing an election against former president Donald Trump in November, went beyond the congratulatory message as the two leaders discussed their commitment to a partnership towards a growing economy, better jobs and safer communities.

Against the backdrop of a frenzy of negative reports last year that the US intended to kick SA out of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), it became clear the two leaders intended to walk hand-in-hand into the future.

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Instead of isolating South Africa, the country was allowed to host a successful Agoa gathering with assurance that it would stay put in the body.

During the telephone conversation, Ramaphosa and Biden also discussed the US-SA bilateral relationship and areas of future partnership, including leadership in the G20.

“Together, the US and SA are committed to deepening our cooperation and advancing our shared interests, including growing economic prosperity, combating the climate crisis, strengthening health systems and ensuring that democracy delivers for all people,” an embassy statement said.

The strong relations between the two were well articulated by international relations expert, Dr Sithembile Mbete, from the University of Pretoria who said “regardless of the rhetoric and the bluster, US and South Africa are friendly countries”.

Despite what appeared to be tension over how the US saw South Africa’s role regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Blinken, during his earlier visits to South African, spoke “incredibly warmly” about the relationship with South Africa.