President Cyril Ramaphosa and President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in Cape Town where EU leaders announced the first Clean Trade and Investment Partnership in November 2025, as part of the Global Gateway Investment Package.
South Africa and the EU on Friday kicked off the first government-to-government dialogue at the senior-official level, to advance the implementation of their new Clean Trade and Investment Partnership (CTIP).
The aim of the talks is to reinforce clean and resilient supply chains, support local strategic industries, and accelerate investments in green hydrogen and critical raw materials. South Africa is the EU’s first CTIP partner and the region's largest investment partner in Sub-Saharan Africa. Trade flows stood at €45 billion (R839.7bn) in 2022, and the EU is the number one investor in South Africa, representing over 40% of foreign direct investment.
The government-to-government dialogue will focus on specific CTIP business cases and flagship projects, aimed at materialising mutual trade and investment opportunities, including South Africa’s expansion of the electricity grid, renewable energy, sustainable aviation fuels, critical raw materials, and green hydrogen, a statement said.
