Readout of Vice President Harris’s Meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa

Vice President Kamala Harris hosted President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa for breakfast at the Naval Observatory today as a sign of the strong partnership between the United States and South Africa.  The Vice President applauded President Ramaphosa’s leadership in the global COVID-19 response and thanked him for his efforts to promote vaccine equity across the African continent.  Vice President Harris and President Ramaphosa had a wide-ranging conversation about steps each government is taking to strengthen global health and global health security, including our significant and longstanding collaboration through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).  They also discussed how the United States and South Africa can best cooperate to tackle the climate crisis. Vice President Harris welcomed deeper bilateral cooperation on space engagement and thanked President Ramaphosa for South Africa’s leadership on science and technology.  The two leaders discussed the importance of advancing the women, peace, and security agenda, to include expanding joint efforts to combat gender-based violence, and online harassment and abuse. They also agreed to cooperate closely on matters of peace and security affecting the continent.

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