PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa will make a state visit to Britain, Buckingham Palace said on Monday, the first such visit since King Charles succeeded his late mother Queen Elizabeth last month.
Ramaphosa and his wife, Tshepo Motsepe, have accepted an invitation from the new British monarch for the November 22-24 state visit, the palace said.
In an announcement, the Palace said: “The President of the Republic of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa, accompanied by Dr Tshepo Motsepe, has accepted an invitation from His Majesty The King to pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom from Tuesday 22nd November to Thursday 24th November 2022.
“The King and The Queen Consort will host the State Visit at Buckingham Palace.”
It is understood the visit was in the early stages of being planned before the Queen’s death in September, according to Sky News.
Charles is believed to be wanting to encourage Commonwealth countries to remain in the “family of nations” after succeeding his mother as the group’s head.
The new King has visited the Rainbow Nation on a number of occasions.
He first toured South Africa as the Prince of Wales in 1997 and visited Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
Charles also attended Nelson Mandela’s funeral in 2013 when he claimed the world would be a “poorer place” without South Africa’s first black head of state.
However, Ramaphosa’s visit will be the first state visit to Britain since ex-US President Donald Trump touched down with his wife Melania in 2019.
A visit from Japan was scheduled in 2020 but it was cancelled due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Mr Ramaphosa is currently under pressure in South Africa after facing allegations of money laundering.
The 69-year-old has denied the accusations but the scandal has reportedly been a hit to the President’s image.
Mr Ramaphosa was also among the first world leaders to pay tribute to the Queen following her death last month.
Writing on Twitter, he said: “Her Majesty was an extraordinary and world-renowned public figure who lived a remarkable life.
Former South African presidents Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma all made state visits to Britain.
Britain exported 4 billion pounds of goods and services to South Africa in 2021 and its imports from the country were worth about 8 billion pounds, according to British data. Britain is South Africa’s fourth-biggest export market.
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