Media briefing remarks by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the working visit to the European Union, Brussels, Belgium

President Ursula von der Leyen,
Ambassadors,
Ministers,
Members of the media,
 
It is a great honour and a privilege to have been invited to participate in the Global Gateway Forum.
 
This initiative is opening up new possibilities for trade and investment and forging a new era of partnership and cooperation.
 
It has been a particular pleasure to meet with President von der Leyen to continue the productive engagements that we had in Cape Town in March this year at the South Africa–European Union Summit.
 
South Africa and the EU maintain a dynamic and expanding bilateral partnership spanning trade, energy, education, science, human rights and health.
 
We share a commitment to multilateralism, human rights, UN reform, global peace, climate action and sustainable development. 
 
The EU remains one of the most important foreign investors in South Africa.
 
Together, EU member states accountr for 41 percent of total foreign direct investment into our country. 
 
Over 2,000 EU companies operate in South Africa, creating more than half a million direct and indirect jobs.
 
The South Africa-European Union Summit in March agreed on pathways to further advance these economic ties.
 
It reaffirmed our commitment to deal with common challenges and to promote peace, development and prosperity.
 
Since then, our officials have been engaged in technical discussions on the agreed launch of a Clean Trade and Investment Partnership.
 
This innovative partnership focuses on investment, the clean energy transition, skills and technology, connectivity, and developing strategic industries along the entire supply chains. 
 
The partnership is expected to create jobs in South Africa and elsewhere on the African continent.
 
We are hopeful that it will contribute to the development of Africa as the next frontier of clean global production. 
 
We are therefore delighted by the announcement of a further investment package that will bring the total investment value to 11.5 billion Euros.
 
These investments will help to build the economy of the future in the South Africa of the present.
 
The investment package covers areas such as critical minerals, e-battery development, green hydrogen, renewable energy and vaccines. 
 
This will help to accelerate South Africa’s just transition to a low-carbon economy, while ensuring that no one is left behind.
 
The investment will also support rail, road and ports infrastructure, logistics and digital connectivity. 
 
We welcome the special focus on skills, small business development, and research and development.
 
This is vital for the development of South Africa’s people, our most valuable resource.
 
We applaud the leadership of President von der Leyen and President Costa in giving form to this vision of a global gateway.
 
We are grateful to the European Union for the strong support it has given to South Africa’s G20 Presidency, and our agenda of solidarity, equality and sustainability.
 
We are looking forward to welcoming you, President von der Leyen, to the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg next month.
 
We believe this will be an important opportunity to advance the vision of a peaceful, just and inclusive world order that we both share.
 
I thank you.