For more than a year, South Africa has refused to respond to requests for a high-level summit, frustrating the European Union, its biggest trading partner and biggest foreign investor, according to people familiar with the matter.
The EU has asked South Africa several times in the past 12 months to set a date for the so-called EU-South Africa summit, but has not received any response or suggestions, said the people, who requested anonymity. . No statement has been issued. These summits aim to reflect the EU's strategic partnership with South Africa, the only country with which the EU has such a relationship.
Officials say the delay has heightened concerns in the West that South Africa is increasingly turning to Russia and China and ignoring its relationships with the United States and European countries.
South Africa held exercises with the Russian and Chinese navies last year but refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and was accused by the US ambassador of shipping weapons to Russia, a claim Pretoria denied .
“Unfortunately, it has not been possible to schedule a summit for 2023, but consultations are continuing with the aim of determining the most suitable date,” an EU spokesperson said in response to questions.
With South Africa's national elections scheduled for May 29, a summit could only take place later this year, officials said. The South African President's Office and Department of International Relations and Cooperation did not respond to requests for comment. Western countries account for the majority of South Africa's trade, with more than a thousand American, European and British companies investing in the country.
China is South Africa's single largest trading partner, with two-way trade valued at $56.3 billion (R1 trillion) in 2022, while the EU accounted for a total of $56.4 billion worth of trade with South Africa in the same year. Ta. Additionally, although there is little Chinese investment in South Africa, more than 1,000 companies from the EU accounted for 51% (R1.41 trillion) of the total foreign direct investment stock in 2021, according to the EU Chamber of Commerce. It is said to employ 350,000 people. and Southern African industry.
More than 600 U.S. companies operate in South Africa, employing 134,600 people, according to the South African government.
negative signal
The delay in the summit sends a negative signal for future relations between the EU and South Africa, three people familiar with the matter said.
The Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and South Africa entered into force in 2004 and included a preferential trade agreement and the “establishment of regular political dialogue”.
The summit was held every year from 2009 to 2013, and was last held in 2018 for the seventh time.
Plans for the next summit were initially derailed by the coronavirus pandemic.
South Africa insists it still values its relations with the EU and the United States.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor have met with U.S. officials in recent months to strengthen ties, and a petition for a review of bilateral relations between the two countries submitted to the U.S. Congress He expressed regret over the partisan bill.