President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined the country’s challenges and stressed the importance of partnerships in his opening remarks during an official joint working visit of the Netherlands and Denmark, in Pretoria, on Tuesday. 

The dignitaries included Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Ramaphosa opened his address by highlighting the country’s energy challenges and the impact on the local economy.

“Renewable energy forms an increasingly important part of our energy mix and it is vital to both the achievement of a just transition and greater energy security. We hope to benefit from closer cooperation with your countries in this regard,” Ramaphosa told Rutte and Frederiksen.

He commended South Africa’s longstanding relationship with the Netherlands and Denmark, and has called for increased cooperation towards shared objectives.

The President stressed the importance of building mutually beneficial partnerships between regions of the Global North and South to bridge growing divides and address common challenges.

“Given the current challenges in Africa and Europe, it is important that we broaden our dialogue to include regional issues,” Ramaphosa added.

This sentiment follows Ramaphosa’s recent visit to Kyiv and St Petersburg for meetings with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenkskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, alongside a delegation from seven African countries.

The delegation called for a de-escalation of the conflict and the release of children and prisoners of war. Further, it highlighted the devastating effects the war was having on African economies, such as food shortages and a rise in the cost of living.

“We believe that our mission was successful in registering the willingness of African leaders to contribute to a negotiated peace and to highlight the broader effects of the conflict. We hope that it will contribute in some way towards international peace efforts,” Ramaphosa opined.