President Cyril Ramaphosa and newly elected United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer have both expressed their shared commitment for the two countries to work together, as both leaders begin new administrations.
According to the Presidency, this emerged during a telephonic call by Starmer to Ramaphosa on Sunday morning.
Ramaphosa spokesperson Vincent Magwneya said the two leaders expressed their commitment to deepen relations in areas including the just energy transition.
“In the call, the Prime Minister expressed his interest in working closely with South Africa as part of executing the strong mandate given to the Labour Party in the general election on Thursday, 4 July 2024.
President Ramaphosa congratulated Prime Minister Starmer on his electoral victory and said the Statement of Intent framing South Africa’s Government of National Unity incorporated many objectives shared by the two new administrations,” said Magwenya.
The spokesperson highlighted that the two statesmen regard the discussion as a continuation of the deliberations in which they engaged in November 2022 when President Ramaphosa visited London on the first State Visit hosted by His Majesty King Charles III.
Sir Keir Starmer was at that time the leader of the opposition Labour Party.
“President Ramaphosa described the bilateral relationship as a special bond and said South Africa wished to see greater alignment with the UK at the national and multilateral level, with South Africa’s Presidency of the G20 in 2025 providing one such opportunity.
President Ramaphosa foresees closer cooperation with the UK in the political, social, people-to-people, diplomatic, trade and investment and climate change domains.
The Prime Minister agreed that the G20 would be a platform for advancing shared interests in climate change, economic growth and the eradication of inequality,” added Magwenya.
The telephone call comes a day after Ramaphosa congratulated Starmer on his election win, after unseating his predecessor Rishi Sunak in what many have called a landslide victory, by becoming the first Labour Prime Minister in 14 years.
“President Ramaphosa said he looks forward to working with Prime Minister Starmer to enhance the strong, historic relations between South Africa and the UK.
South Africa and the UK collaborate in various multilateral fora to advance shared ideals and objectives,” said Ramaphosa on the statement released on Saturday.
The UK is one of South Africa’s largest bilateral trading and investment partners and remains South Africa’s number one source of long-haul tourism worldwide.