JOHANNESBURG, May 15 (Xinhua) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to undertake a working visit to the United States next week, where he is scheduled to meet with his U.S. counterpart, the South African Presidency said in a statement.
According to the statement issued Wednesday night, the visit is scheduled for May 19 to 22. "On Wednesday, 21 May 2025, President Ramaphosa will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House, in Washington, D.C. to discuss bilateral, regional, and global issues of interest," the statement read.
The visit was described as an opportunity to "reset" bilateral relations, which have reportedly deteriorated since Trump took office in January. "The president's visit to the United States provides a platform to reset the strategic relationship between the two countries," the statement noted.
Confirmation of the visit comes amid heightened diplomatic tensions between the two countries in recent months.
An executive order signed by Trump in January, alleging racial discrimination against white Afrikaners in South Africa, enabled them to seek refugee status in the country.
On Sunday night, 49 white South Africans, granted refugee status under a program initiated by Trump, departed Johannesburg for the United States. They claimed to be fleeing "white genocide" and other "bad things" happening to them in South Africa.
The allegations, consistently dismissed by the South African government as baseless misinformation, have partly resulted in the suspension of some U.S. development funding and a boycott of South Africa's Group of 20 presidency. ■
