Cape Town (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, together with President of the European Council António Costa, is attending the EU-South Africa Summit in Cape Town on March 13. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is organising the event.
As reported by the EU Commission, the European Union and South Africa will examine avenues to further boost trade and investment relations based on shared interests in clean technology and sustainable supply chains. In this context, President Von der Leyen will also examine how to take this thriving association forward under the EU’s new generation of trade deals, concentrating on investment cooperation, clean energy, skills and technology.
In addition, during the Summit, President von der Leyen will launch an EU “Global Gateway Investment Package” with South Africa to enable two-way investments through grants and public and private lending from European and regional financial institutions.
What are the main issues for discussion at the EU-South Africa summit?
European leaders, the sources say, also expect Thursday’s summit with South Africa to offer an opportunity to make progress on some of the toughest global and regional challenges, including Ukraine’s future, under South Africa’s G20 Presidency.
The leaders will discuss the necessity of strengthened multilateralism.
“I am eagerly awaiting the summit and our exchanges on enhancing economic relations, energy transition, security and defence, sustainable value chains and multilateral cooperation,”
Costa said.
“We are dedicated to strengthening the long-standing and geostrategic partnership between the EU and South Africa, especially given the current geopolitical challenges.”
The eighth summit between the leaders of EU and South Africa will take place tomorrow in Cape Town.
— EU Council (@EUCouncil) March 12, 2025
The summit is an opportunity for the EU to intensify its partnership with a strategic partner amidst a challenging geopolitical context: https://t.co/6Rl2C627yR#EUSouthAfrica
How is the EU prioritising economic cooperation with South Africa?
South Africa is the European Union’s largest trading ally in sub-Saharan Africa, with €49 billion worth of trade in goods in 2023. The European Union, for its part, is South Africa’s leading source of foreign direct investment, accounting for 53.7 percent in 2022. In June 2016, the EU and South Africa also signed the Southern African economic partnership agreement (SADC EPA), which oversees trade in goods between the two regions.
The previous engagement between Ursula von der Leyen and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took place during the Global Citizen NOW event in Rio de Janeiro on November 18, 2024. At this meeting, they focused on Africa’s clean energy initiatives, emphasising the significance of renewable energy projects in the continent. Von der Leyen stressed the EU’s commitment to investing in renewable energy in Africa through the Global Gateway initiative. Ramaphosa examined the potential for renewable energy to drive economic growth across Africa
