President Ramaphosa, British Prime Minister Starmer Pledge To Strengthen Ties

President Cyril Ramaphosa and newly elected British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer have both agreed to strengthen the relationship between South Africa and the United Kingdom (UK).

Speaking on a call Sunday morning, the two leaders are committed to enhancing ties, particularly in areas such as transitioning to sustainable energy.

Starmer expressed his desire to collaborate closely with South Africa "as part of executing the strong mandate given to the Labor Party in the general election on Thursday, 4 July 2024," SA News reported.

The UK Prime Minister called Ramaphosa after assuming office on July 5.

On the call, the South African President congratulated Starmer on his electoral victory and said the Statement of Intent framing South Africa's Government of National Unity (GNU) incorporated many objectives shared by the two new administrations.

Furthermore, the UK Prime Minister agreed that the G20 would be an important platform for promoting common goals related to climate change, economic growth, and reducing inequality.

The two leaders viewed the phone call as a follow-up to their previous discussions in November 2022. President Ramaphosa had visited London for the first State Visit hosted by King Charles III back then. At that time, Starmer was the leader of the opposition Labor Party.

"President Ramaphosa described the bilateral relationship as a special bond and said South Africa wished to see greater alignment with the UK at the national and multilateral level, with South Africa's Presidency of the G20 in 2025 providing one such opportunity," the presidency said.

It added, "President Ramaphosa foresees closer cooperation with [the] UK in the political, social, people-to-people, diplomatic, trade and investment and climate change domains."

Starmer officially became Britain's Prime Minister after meeting with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. He promised to begin a new phase of "national renewal" in the UK after his Labor Party won against the ruling Conservatives in the general election.

Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged the defeat in the national election on July 5, confirming the Labor Party's victory.

Whereas, Ramaphosa took oath as South Africa's president for the second time last month.

South Africa witnessed elections in June and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) had to form alliances with other political parties as the party individually couldn't secure majority votes for the first time since the 1994 election that ended apartheid.