Ramaphosa Tours France to Bolster Comprehensive Cooperation

Just before France’s National Day, from 10 to 12 July 2026, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa completed a working visit to France. He met with France’s President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace and discussions explored cooperation in political, economic and security domains, while considering certain conflicts around the world.

During this trip to France, Ramaphosa was accompanied by his wife, the First Lady Tshepo Motsepe and several ministers, including the Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola, Minister of Defense Angie Motshekga, Minister of Public Works Dean MacPherson, Minister of Sport Gayton MacKenzie, and Minister of Higher Education Buti Manamela.

At the invitation of UNESCO DG Khaled El-Enany, Ramaphosa also co-chaired a Steering Committee on education at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The Committee is responsible for driving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Four (SDG4) to provide quality education for all. Ramaphosa also delivered the keynote in the Transforming Education Summit in Paris, where he shared his country’s experience in making education accessible to all.

Underlining the long shared history, Ramaphosa also traveled to Longueval to lead the 110th Commemoration of the Battle of Delville Wood to honor the 2,500 South African soldiers who lost their lives during World War I. Ramaphosa participated in the wreath-laying ceremony and unveiled a UNESCO plaque to officially recognize the historical significance of the memorial site.

South Africa and France decided to institute a formal mechanism to bolster bilateral cooperation. Thus, Ramaphosa and Macron witnessed the signing of an instrument to establish a Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC), which will meet yearly in a structured manner to promote cooperation at the Foreign Minister’s level.

The JMC upgrades and supersedes the previous bilateral Forum for Political Dialogue by expanding discussions to the economic, education, and energy fields, as well as other affairs of common interest. In addition, the two sides agreed to institutionalize the South Africa – France Investment Conference into a biennial event. South Africa will host the long-overdue 13th Defense Strategic Dialogue in South Africa soon.