Telephone conversation between President Emmanuel Macron and President Cyril Ramaphosa (5 May 2022) [fr]

President Emmanuel MACRON spoke with his South African counterpart, Mr Cyril RAMAPHOSA, on Tuesday, May 5.

President RAMAPHOSA congratulated the President of the Republic on his re-election.

The exchange focused on the Russian aggression against Ukraine and its consequences for the multilateral order. President RAMAPHOSA reviewed his exchanges with Presidents ZELENSKY and PUTIN over the past few days.

The two Heads of State discussed the measures to be taken to prevent and mitigate the effects of the war on global food security, including in the framework of the FARM initiative proposed by France, which aims to ease tensions on agricultural markets, strengthen solidarity with the most affected countries, and continue to invest in local agricultural production.

They also agreed to strengthen their close cooperation in several key areas:

• On the health front, by continuing to deliver vaccines under ACT-A and by continuing to develop, with French support, RNA-messenger vaccine production capacity in South Africa.
• On the energy front, in the framework of the Partnership for a Just Energy Transition, through which France and international donors are supporting South Africa’s transition from coal-fired power.
• On the economic front, in the support provided to the financing of African economies through the reallocation of special drawing rights, and via greater cooperation with the Southern African Development Community.