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US ‘strongly values’ ties with SA, Yellen says, avoiding Russian drills

Andrea Shalal and Kopano Gumbi /Reuters

US treasury secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday lauded SA’s “bold” participation in the Just Energy Transition Partnership backed by the US and other Western nations, but steered clear of mentioning US concerns about Pretoria’s planned military drills with China and Russia.

Yellen spoke to reporters alongside finance minister

Enoch Godongwana in Pretoria on the third leg of her nearly two-week tour of Africa, and just days after Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov visited the country.

In prepared remarks, Yellen welcomed Godongwana’s “cooperation and insightful views” in their talks so far, and said she planned to raise several issues, including Zambia’s stalled sovereign debt restructuring effort, given SA’s key role on the country’s creditor committee.

“The US strongly values our relationship with SA,” Yellen said in remarks that made no mention of Russia or China, or White House concerns about Pretoria’s plans to hold joint military drills with both countries.

Godongwana said the two would discuss countering financial terrorism, climate financing, resolving sovereign debt crises in Africa and global topics that will form part of a meeting of the

Group of 20 major economies next month.

He said Yellen’s visit was a “momentous” occasion, noting the previous visit by a US treasury secretary was in 2014.

The US treasury issued no statement about Yellen’s closeddoor meeting on Wednesday with President Cyril Ramaphosa, a meeting described by Pretoria as a “courtesy call”.

SA has remained one of Moscow’s most important allies on a continent divided over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year.

Yellen’s trip has begun a year-long charm offensive by top US leaders, who will visit Africa to deepen US economic ties with the continent and counter China’s long dominance of trade and lending with many African nations.

Throughout her visit, Yellen has emphasised the right of countries to choose their trading partners, while pitching the greater transparency and lasting nature of an engagement with the US.

The US treasury secretary, who was to meet Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago later on Thursday, singled out SA’s Just Energy Transition Partnership, which was backed in late 2021 by the US, Britain, France, Germany and the EU. They pledged a combined $8.5bn mainly in soft loans to accelerate

SA’s transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy, but the total bill will be much higher, experts say.

“This partnership represents SA’s bold first step towards expanding electricity access and reliability and creating a low carbon and climate resilient economy,” Yellen said, adding that it would “alleviate the deep fiscal strain the energy sector is putting on SA’s economy”.

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2023-01-27T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-27T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://tisobg.pressreader.com/article/281655374206599

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