South Africa and the United States have recently shared perspectives and explored possibilities for cooperation, at regional and multilateral levels, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) said.
This emerged after Dirco Director-General Kgabo Mahoai on Friday co-chaired the South Africa-United States Working Group on Africa and Global Issues (WGAGI), with the United States Deputy Secretary of State, John Sullivan, in Pretoria.
Matters relating to peace and security, sustainable development, trade and investment, and wildlife trafficking, amongst others, were high on the agenda.
The WGAGI is a structured bilateral mechanism that was held at the level of the Director-General/Deputy Secretary of State, which gives both the respective Heads of Delegation an opportunity to engage on African and global issues of mutual interest.
“The meeting shared perspectives and explored possibilities for cooperation, at the regional and multilateral levels, including matters related to peace and security, sustainable development, trade and investment, and wildlife trafficking, amongst others,” Dirco said in a statement.
Deputy Secretary Sullivan used the platform to provide a briefing on the Trump Administration’s recently announced Africa Strategy and in particular the Prosper Africa initiative, which is aimed at enhancing trade and investment ties for the benefit of both the United States and Africa.
Bilateral relations between South Africa and the United States are cordial. The United States is an important partner for South Africa for trade, investment, tourism, technology transfer, education and health cooperation.
South Africa is a major beneficiary of development assistance from the United States, especially for health, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Trade and investment relations take place under the auspices of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), under which South Africa gains duty-free access to the US market for value-added products.