Latest news with #DepartmentofInternationalRelations
Zawya
7 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Minister Lamola attends the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Ministerial Coordinator's Meeting, in Changsha, People's Republic of China, from 10 to 12 June 2025
Minister Ronald Lamola has undertaken an Official Visit to Changsha, Hunan Province, to attend the Ministerial Coordination Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). The purpose of the meeting is to discuss implementation of the outcomes of the 2024 FOCAC Summit which was held in Beijing on 5 and 6 September 2024. The FOCAC 2025–2027 Action Plan it includes cooperation in ten partnership areas including trade prosperity, industrial chain cooperation, connectivity and development cooperation. This significant gathering coincides with the commemoration of FOCAC's 25th anniversary, underscoring the enduring partnership between Africa and China. Minster Lamola, said 'Our participation reflects our strategic priority to strengthen bilateral and multilateral relations within this important framework.' The Ministerial Meeting will be immediately followed by the Fourth China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE), from 12 to 15 June 2025, where further avenues for economic collaboration and mutual prosperity will be advanced. Twenty South African companies will exhibit their products and engage with Chinese investors with a view to opening further avenues for the export of South African products to China. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
Zawya
16-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Ninth Meeting of the South Africa-France Forum for Political Dialogue
The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Ronald Lamola, has arrived in France to co-chair the Ninth Forum for Political Dialogue alongside the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic, Mr Jean-Noël Barrot. This bilateral engagement will enable the two Ministers to review progress and discuss key issues of mutual interest, further strengthening the strategic partnership between South Africa and France. South Africa enjoys robust trade relations and significant investment flows with France, which remains one of its largest trading partners within the European Union. The two nations also collaborate strategically in critical areas such as education and skills development science, technology, arts, and culture, energy cooperation, health and defence. The Forum will further provide an opportunity for the Ministers to exchange perspectives on pressing global and regional geopolitical developments, underscoring their shared commitment to multilateralism and a rules-based international order. This dialogue reaffirms the enduring partnership between South Africa and France, rooted in mutual respect and a common vision for advancing peace, sustainable development, and innovation. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
Eyewitness News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Trump says he's bending rules for Afrikaners to enter US 'because they're being killed'
CAPE TOWN - United States President Donald Trump said he was bending the rules for white Afrikaner South Africans to enter his country as refugees Monday because he believed they were under threat of genocide. Speaking at a White House press conference on Monday afternoon, just hours before the group of 49 people who left Johannesburg on Sunday night was due to land in Washington, D.C., Trump once again repeated the false narrative that white farmers were having their land confiscated and were being murdered. Trump also confirmed remarks made by President Cyril Ramaphosa in Abidjan on Monday that a South African delegation was due to meet with him next week. Since Trump came into office, he's been on a strict clampdown on asylum seekers, while deporting thousands of immigrants to their homelands. Asked on Monday why he was expediting entry for South Africans and not applications from war-torn countries like Sudan or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Trump falsely claimed that it was because they were under attack. "Because they're being killed and we don't want to see people be killed." Trump has once again slammed the media for not reporting on what he believes is unfolding in South Africa. "It's a genocide that you people don't want to write about. But it's a terrible thing that's taking place. Farmers are being killed. They happen to be white." Trump said that race was not a factor in granting the South African group asylum. He said the group would be offered citizenship in America. The Department of International Relations on Monday warned that the group would threaten their refugee status in the US if they were to return on holiday or to visit family in South Africa.
eNCA
12-05-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
49 Afrikaners headed to US can't simply return for a 'braai' and back
The first group of 49 Afrikaner 'refugees ' leaving South Africa for the US. JOHANNESBURG - Department of International Relations (DIRCO) spokesperson Chrispin Phiri says it will not be easy for the 49 Afrikaners who left South Africa for the United States. Whilst in the US, should anything arise, they will not have easy access to any diplomatic assistance from South Africa. Their attempt to reach out or return to South Africa would be against international law and refugee laws, as one cannot simply return to a country where they claim persecution. 'They simply can't return home for a braai and go back,' says Phiri. "Even the word itself refugee suggests that you are seeking refuge from a particular country. "You cant be seeking refuge then go back home have a braai then go back to x country you are safer. It defeats the purpose of you being protected and under refuge of a particular country," he said. To return, they would have to revoke their refugee status, which in itself would be a monumental task. In February, after his return to the White House, US President Donald Trump accused the South African government of genocide. He has also accused the government of dispossessing Afrikaner farmers of their land through the Expropriation Act. DIRCO Minister Ronald Lamola has argued that the group of Afrikaners who have left do not qualify for refugee status. He says the country's crime statistics do not support the argument that white farmers are being persecuted.
Eyewitness News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Afrikaners relocating to US could lose their refugee status should they decide to return to SA
JOHANNESBURG - Nearly 50 Afrikaners headed to the United States (US) as refugees stand to lose their status should they decide to return to South Africa. The Department of International Relations said a group of 49 white Afrikaaners en route to America under a controversial resettlement programme could jeopardise their refugee protections if they try to come back. ALSO READ: SA transport officials detail flight plan for aircraft carrying 49 Afrikaners relocating to US The group is travelling under US President Donald Trump's executive order, which gives special entry to white South Africans claiming persecution, despite widespread rejection of the claim by the South African government. Their flight is set to land at Dulles Airport outside Washington, DC. What happens after that, including where they'll live and what support they receive, is entirely up to the US government. Their refugee applications, like all others, are handled confidentially, and South African officials said they've had no hand in the process. But the legal implications back home are significant. Diplomatic protections fall away, and while section 20 of the Constitution guarantees that 'no citizen may be deprived of citizenship,' returning under false claims could lead to court challenges over fraud or misrepresentation. Department of International Relations spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said refugee status isn't a revolving door. 'You really can't have your cake and eat it. You cannot go to the US on migration and economic interest and suddenly decide, 'I miss South African weather in December, I would like to have a braai with my friends in Pretoria,' and come back. No, it does not work like that. That is something you have to forgo.' For now, the first cohort of those fleeing what the government calls a false narrative of persecution is on its way, with more expected to follow in the coming weeks.
