Yellen To Discuss Bilateral Ties, Global Issues With President Ramaphosa

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet President Cyril Ramaphosa Wednesday to discuss bilateral ties and pressing global issues during her visit to South Africa.

Yellen is anticipated to push President Cyril Ramaphosa's administration to continue its incipient shift to cleaner energy sources and away from a disproportionate reliance on coal.

Rich nations have pledged to provide South Africa with $8.5 billion in aid, but the majority of that money will come in the form of loans rather than grants and the country is currently experiencing an energy crisis that might potentially slow down economic progress.

"She will meet government, business, and civil society counterparts to discuss how to strengthen our bilateral relationship and address regional and global issues of concern, including deepening economic ties and advancing a just energy transition," the U.S. Treasury said, as per Reuters.

Enoch Godongwana, South Africa's Finance Minister, will also hold talks with Yellen on Thursday, according to the South African Treasury.

"Areas of cooperation and mutual benefit between the two economies will be discussed, to further the already fruitful ties between the two states," the South African Treasury said.

Yellen arrives soon after, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, was welcomed by Naledi Pandor in Pretoria for bilateral talks.

To the chagrin of its key allies, particularly the U.S. and EU, South Africa has consistently urged for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in Ukraine without criticizing Russia.

Also, the naval exercises with Russia and China scheduled for next month were publicly defended by South African military authorities on Monday, who also extended a cordial welcome to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and emphasized the "deep friendship" shared by the three countries. Pandor, South Africa's Minister of International affairs, further dismissed criticism of upcoming joint military exercises with China and Russia by claiming that hosting them with "friends" was the "natural flow of relations," Reuters Reported.

Russia and China will participate in naval military drills hosted by the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) in KwaZulu-Natal in February.

This takes place at a time when Washington continues to vehemently denounce Moscow for its involvement in the Ukrainian conflict and a day after Yellen expressed her displeasure with the speed of debt negotiations with Zambia, condemning Beijing for the holdups.