'President Trump and I agreed to meet soon to address various matters'

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President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he will be meeting with US leader Donald Trump‘soon’ to discuss relations between the two countries.

In February, Trump accused South Africa of treating certain groups poorly, which resulted in the US freezing aid to South Africa and offering refugee status to Afrikaners.

On X (formerly Twitter), Ramaphosa shared that he had a phone call with Trumpon Thursday, during which they discussed the need for peace between Russia and Ukraine.

“We both agreed that the war should be brought to an end as soon as possible to prevent further unnecessary deaths. President Trump and I agreed to meet soon to address various matters related to US-South Africa relations. We also talked about the importance of fostering good relations between our two countries,” Ramaphosa said.

Trump and Ramaphosa to iron out issues

Since Trump took office early this year, the relationship between South Africa and America has deteriorated. Shortly after assuming office, Trump signed an executive order halting all financial aid to South Africa and imposed a 37% tariff on South African exports to the US, which he later paused for 90 days.

Following Trump’s comments in February over the country’s adopted Expropriation Act, Ramaphosa said the act was not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process that ensured public access to land “in an equitable and just manner as guided by the Constitution”.