By Staff Reporter
The Presidency has confirmed that President Cyril Ramaphosa will meet US President Donald Trump next week.
“The president’s visit to the US provides a platform to reset the strategic relationship between the two countries,” it said in a short statement.
Earlier this week Trump announced the meeting. It comes amid growing tensions over Trump’s claims of violence against white farmers in the country and his administration welcoming Afrikaners as refugees.
“Because they’re being killed, and we don’t want to see people be killed,” Trump said during a press conference when asked why his administration is offering expedited refugee status to Afrikaners while continuing to restrict admissions from war-torn countries like Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“It’s a terrible thing that’s taking place. And farmers are being killed. They happen to be white. But whether they’re white or black makes no difference to me… their land is being confiscated in South Africa,” Trump said, labeling the situation a “genocide”.
Ramaphosa has had couple of calls with Trump in an attempt to set him right over the claims and defend South Africa’s anti-apartheid policies.
Ramaphosa will embark on a working visit to the US from Monday to Thursday.
He will meet Trump at the White House in Washington DC to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of interest on Wednesday.
The Presidency said further details would be communicated at a later stage.
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