President Cyril Ramaphosa is courting French investors and strengthening ties with President Emmanuel Macron, days after anti-migrant unrest at home disrupted South Africa’s diplomatic engagement with one of its key African partners.
Ramaphosa arrived in France on Friday for a three-day official visit that includes talks with Macron, meetings with French business leaders and high-level education engagements at UNESCO.
The visit comes at a delicate moment for Pretoria’s foreign relations. Ghana postponed a meeting of the South Africa-Ghana Bi-National Commission that was expected to be co-chaired by Ramaphosa and Ghanaian President John Mahama in August.
Ghanaian officials said the recent anti-migrant unrest in South Africa would probably have overshadowed the talks and that it would be better for the leaders to meet after tensions had subsided.
South Africa said both countries would continue consultations to agree on a new date. However, the postponement showed how domestic unrest is beginning to complicate Pretoria’s relations with other African governments.
