PRESIDENT CYRIL Ramaphosa says South Africa and the US have much to gain from working together.
Writing in his weekly newsletter on Monday, 26 May, he said Mzansi has always regarded the US as a strong investment and trading partner.
The president also announced that US President Donald Trump will attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in Joburg in November 2025.
"President Trump agreed that the US should continue playing a key role in the G20, including attending the G20 Leaders' Summit in Joburg later this year, where South Africa will hand over the presidency of the G20 to the US," said Ramaphosa.
He said one of the key outcomes of the discussions they had was an agreement on an economic cooperation channel between the US administration and South Africa to engage further on tariffs and a broad range of trade matters.
Last week, Ramaphosa undertook a successful working visit to the United States at the invitation of Trump to strengthen relations between the two countries.
He described the working visit as "successful".
He said it reaffirmed the importance of keeping the channels of dialogue open.
"Our countries and our economies are bound together in many ways. We went to Washington to establish a basis for greater economic cooperation and to address some of the challenges that have recently arisen in relations between our two countries," he said.
ALSO READ | 'Tsotsi's' naked body horror!Opens in new window
Ramaphosa said the delegation that accompanied him included a diverse range of South Africans, with representatives from government, business, labour and the sporting fraternity, all united in advancing the country's interests.
"Our visit came at a time when US-SA relations have come under increasing strain, largely as a result of misinformation peddled by fringe groups in our two countries, including a false narrative about a so-called genocide and an orchestrated campaign of violence against white farmers.
"In this context, it was critical for us to engage directly with the US administration to correct misinformation and provide a true account of the progress we have made as a democracy and the many and complex challenges we still face," said Ramaphosa.
The president pointed out that while it's a necessary conversation, the overarching aim of the visit was to deepen Mzansi's strategic economic partnership with the US as the country's second-largest trading partner.
He said that US is a key export market for South African goods, products and services, including motor vehicles, agricultural products and, increasingly, critical minerals.
"At the same time, we buy many goods and services from the US. There is potential to increase and diversify trade between our two countries in areas such as gas, mining and critical minerals, agriculture and nuclear products. The US is a major source of investment in South Africa. There are over 600 US companies, many with a long-established presence here, who continue to expand their investments," Ramaphosa said.
He mentioned that earlier in 2025, tech giant Microsoft announced plans to invest an additional R5,4 billion in expanding its cloud and AI infrastructure in South Africa over the next two years.
The president said according to data from the US Department of Commerce, these South Africa-based US companies employ about 148 000 South Africans.
"We need to work together as government, business, labour and all of society to overcome our domestic challenges, including the high rate of crime, if we are to attract investment that advances economic growth and creates jobs," added Ramaphosa.
