President Cyril Ramaphosa has held strategic briefings with his support team ahead of a crucial meeting with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, 21 May.
President Trump is expected to welcome Ramaphosa and his delegation at the White House at around 17h30 South African time, followed by lunch. A bilateral meeting is expected to take place at 18h45 in the Oval Office.
#TeamSouthAfrica 🇿🇦 in a strategic briefing meeting ahead of President @CyrilRamaphosa’s visit to the White House tomorrow to meet with U.S. President Donal Trump. #SAinUSA 🇿🇦🇺🇸#BetterAfricaBetterWorld 🌍 pic.twitter.com/xoSkjmOERo
— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) May 20, 2025
Ramaphosa arrived in Washington DC on Monday for a high-level Working Visit aimed at resetting and revitalising bilateral relations between South Africa and the United States.
The President has been in high spirits, greeting members of the media at the South African Embassy.
Ramaphosa expressed optimism about his engagement with Trump.
“We are always ready; we are hoping to have really good discussions with President Trump and his fellow government colleagues…we are looking forward to a really good and positive meeting. We’re looking forward to a very good outcome for our country, for our people, for the jobs in our country and good trade relations, and to normalise relations between our two countries.”
Presidential Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya has emphasised the importance of the visit, describing it as a significant step in reframing bilateral, economic and trade relations.
“The President is prepared for the moment. He’s looking forward to it. He’s highly enthused, and we’re looking forward to a very successful meeting aimed at resetting the relationship between South Africa and the United States.”
He added that the primary goal is to engage on trade relations, but that Ramaphosa will not want to spend much time on falsehoods that have skewed Trump’s view on South Africa, especially the disinformation about white people being “persecuted.”
“The whole world knows there is no persecution of any particular race in South Africa. So, we don’t need to spend any effort dispelling something that is well known is not there. We’re going to be focusing on opportunities that will underpin this resetting of the relationship, and we’re looking forward to ironing out whatever issues of concern that there may be.”
The future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a US trade preference programme, is expected to feature prominently in the discussions.
AGOA is a US trade preference programme that benefits eligible sub-Saharan African countries, providing duty-free access to the US market for many products, including vehicles, citrus, wine, and some apparel.
In April, President Trump announced global reciprocal tariffs on most imported goods, with South Africa facing a 31% tariff increase, effectively nullifying the preference that sub-Saharan African countries enjoy under AGOA.
Magwenya says Ramaphosa is not apprehensive ahead of the meeting with Trump.
Ramaphosa is accompanied by a high-level delegation of Ministers, including Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola; Minister in The Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni; Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau; Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, and the Special Envoy to the United States of America, Mcebisi Jonas.
A number of imminent South Africans are also part of the delegatation.
Ramaphosa’s Full White House Programme:
President Ramaphosa is scheduled to meet with President Trump at 11h30 EDT (17h30 SAST) at the White House, in Washington DC.
ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS:
11:30 AM (17:30 SAST)
President Trump receives President Ramaphosa
11:35 AM (17:35 SAST)
President Ramaphosa signs visitors book
11:45 AM (17:45 SAST)
Working Lunch with President Trump
12:45 PM (18:45 SAST)
Bilateral Meeting between President Ramaphosa and President Trump
(This element will include interaction with the media)
13:30 (19:30 SAST)
President Ramaphosa departs the White House
The South African delegation will comprise of the following Cabinet Ministers, members of business and eminent South Africans.
SOUTH AFRICA:
- Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola,
- Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni,
- Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau,
- Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen,
- South African Professional Golfer, Mr Ernie Els,
- Founder of Richemont and Chairman of Remgro, Mr Johann Rupert
- South African Professional Golfer, Mr Retief Goosen
- Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) Vice President Adrian Gore and Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) President Zingiswa Losi are also in Washington DC to provide strategic support to President Ramaphosa and the South African delegation.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
- Vice President of the United States of America, HE JD Vance,
- Secretary Pete Hegseth, U.S. Department of Defense,
- Secretary Howard Lutnick, U.S. Department of Commerce,
- Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau, U.S. Department of State,
- Susie Wiles, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff,
- Elon Musk, Special Government Employee, U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE),
- Dr Massad Boulos, Senior Advisor for Africa, and Senior Advisor to the President on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs
