JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed South Africa–European Union trilateral leaders on Thursday at the conclusion of the B20 proceedings ahead of the G20 Leaders' Summit this weekend.
The SA-EU partnership meeting forms part of the long-standing strategic partnership between South Africa and the European Union.
The EU is South Africa’s largest trading partner and leading source of foreign direct investment, while South Africa is the EU’s most significant trading partner in Sub-Saharan Africa.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen thanked the president for a warm welcome and said, "this has been quite the year for our relationship."
Von der Leyen announced the signing of the first ever Clean Trade and Investment Partnership (CTIP), that builds on the EU-South Africa Strategic Partnership and the Economic Partnership Agreement.
The CTIP is intended to support bilateral trade and investments in clean supply chains.
It will also reportedly support South Africa's Just Energy Transition.
The CTIP will focus on key sectors like renewable energy, electricity transmission, raw materials value change, and climate change mitigation.
It will also facilitate the implementation of European Investment Bank (EIB) financing under the Just Energy Transition Partnership.
Dear @CyrilRamaphosa, what an exceptional year for our 🇪🇺🇿🇦 partnership.
One that is truly delivering for both sides, and for the greater good.
Tomorrow, we host the final pledging event of our Scaling Up Renewables in Africa campaign.
With the aim to power a clean future for… pic.twitter.com/o3O1MZ5vQN— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) November 20, 2025
President of the European Council António Costa congratulated South African authorities on the work they've done since the summit that began eight months ago.
He also said, "my second word is to thank president Ramaphosa and South Africa for the very strong global leadership."
"We are living in a multipolar world and in this multipolar world we need to engage and to strengthen the relationship between the different poles of this world."
"Africa is a key continent for the future of our world, and of course, South Africa," he said.