EU Leaders Convene for Summit with South Africa in Cape Town
Key discussions on trade, investment, and global challenges set for the eighth EU-South Africa summit.
CAPE TOWN – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council António Costa are participating in the EU-South Africa Summit, hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on March 13, 2025. This event will address critical areas of cooperation, including trade, investment, and global geopolitical issues.
The summit will focus on enhancing economic relations between the two regions, with particular attention to clean technology and sustainable supply chains.
The EU and South African leaders aim to strengthen their partnership through a new generation of trade agreements that emphasize investment cooperation, clean energy, technology, and skills development.
An important feature of the summit will be the launch of the EU Global Gateway Investment Package, intended to foster two-way investments through grants and public-private lending from both European and regional financial institutions.
This initiative seeks to stimulate economic growth and development in South Africa while enhancing the EU’s strategic interests in the region.
Key topics for discussion will include the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, under South Africa’s G20 Presidency, and the need for strengthened multilateralism to address shared global challenges.
President Costa expressed optimism about the summit's potential to facilitate discussions surrounding economic collaboration, energy transition, security, defense, and sustainable value chains.
Currently, South Africa stands as the European Union’s largest trading ally within sub-Saharan Africa, with trade in goods reaching €49 billion in 2023. The EU is a primary source of foreign direct investment in South Africa, contributing to 53.7 percent of such investments in 2022. In addition, the EU and South Africa formalized their trade relations through the Southern African Economic Partnership Agreement (SADC EPA) established in June 2016, which governs the trade of goods between the two regions.
The prior engagement between President von der Leyen and President Ramaphosa occurred at the Global Citizen NOW event in Rio de Janeiro on November 18, 2024, where they discussed renewable energy initiatives in Africa and the EU’s commitment to investing in clean energy projects on the continent.
The summit is viewed as a critical opportunity to develop the strategic partnership between the EU and South Africa in light of current geopolitical challenges.
The summit will focus on enhancing economic relations between the two regions, with particular attention to clean technology and sustainable supply chains.
The EU and South African leaders aim to strengthen their partnership through a new generation of trade agreements that emphasize investment cooperation, clean energy, technology, and skills development.
An important feature of the summit will be the launch of the EU Global Gateway Investment Package, intended to foster two-way investments through grants and public-private lending from both European and regional financial institutions.
This initiative seeks to stimulate economic growth and development in South Africa while enhancing the EU’s strategic interests in the region.
Key topics for discussion will include the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, under South Africa’s G20 Presidency, and the need for strengthened multilateralism to address shared global challenges.
President Costa expressed optimism about the summit's potential to facilitate discussions surrounding economic collaboration, energy transition, security, defense, and sustainable value chains.
Currently, South Africa stands as the European Union’s largest trading ally within sub-Saharan Africa, with trade in goods reaching €49 billion in 2023. The EU is a primary source of foreign direct investment in South Africa, contributing to 53.7 percent of such investments in 2022. In addition, the EU and South Africa formalized their trade relations through the Southern African Economic Partnership Agreement (SADC EPA) established in June 2016, which governs the trade of goods between the two regions.
The prior engagement between President von der Leyen and President Ramaphosa occurred at the Global Citizen NOW event in Rio de Janeiro on November 18, 2024, where they discussed renewable energy initiatives in Africa and the EU’s commitment to investing in clean energy projects on the continent.
The summit is viewed as a critical opportunity to develop the strategic partnership between the EU and South Africa in light of current geopolitical challenges.
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