South Africa and the United Kingdom have agreed to enhance their trade and defence cooperation, a commitment announced following a high-level meeting between British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola on Tuesday.
Already Britain’s top trading partner in Africa, South Africa exports precious metals, cars, and agricultural products to the UK, making it one of the leading destinations for South African goods. Bilateral trade between the two nations reached roughly 133 billion rand (or $7.62 billion) last year, based on data from the South African Revenue Service.
The two ministers revealed plans for a “UK-South Africa growth plan” aimed at driving economic development and strengthening trade and investment ties. Although Lammy provided limited details about the initiative, he noted it would feature a program to expand agricultural jobs in rural South Africa, thereby boosting South African exports to Britain.
Lamola acknowledged that the nations’ trade and investment relations had slowed due to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, emphasizing that a “reset” was needed to revitalize their partnership. “I am pleased that we have reaffirmed the importance and the strength of our bilateral trade and investment relationship,” he said.
In terms of defence, both countries committed to strengthening collaboration in counter-terrorism efforts and explored ways to support a just energy transition. Lammy’s visit to South Africa follows his recent stop in Nigeria, where he also focused on enhancing economic and security partnerships.
