South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will attend Sánchez’s progressive summit in Barcelona this week

Eduardo González South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will pay a working visit to Spain this week, where he will be received by the King and participate in the 'Global Progressive Mobilisation,' a progressive summit organized in Barcelona by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to address the rise of the far right and the warmongering trend worldwide. According to the Royal Household, Ramaphosa will be received this coming Friday, April 17, by the King at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid. The meeting will include lunch. That same day, the South African president will participate in a business meeting in Madrid, organized by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, the State Secretariat for Trade (via ICEX), and the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) with the aim of strengthening economic, trade, and investment relations between Spain and South Africa and identifying bilateral business opportunities. Trade in goods between Spain and South Africa, primarily intra-industry (automotive industry), has experienced sustained growth in recent years. However, in 2024 it fell compared to the previous year, and the trade balance reversed, with South Africa going from a trade surplus of €36 million in 2023 to a deficit of €71 million. Furthermore, South Africa is the main destination for Spanish investment in Sub-Saharan Africa (37 percent of the total). Cyril Ramaphosa's second day in Spain will take place on Saturday, April 18, in Barcelona, where he will participate in the 'Global Progressive Mobilisation' event, alongside Pedro Sánchez, the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; the President of Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi; the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro; and the President of the European Council, António Costa. The governments of Sánchez and Ramaphosa have demonstrated strong international cooperation, with particular attention to the situation in the Middle East. In June 2024, Spain submitted a Declaration of Intervention to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the proceedings initiated by South Africa against Israel for the alleged violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip. First visit This is the first visit to Spain by Cyril Ramaphosa, who was elected President of South Africa in May 2019 and re-elected in June 2024 for a second five-year term. On October 27, 2022, Pedro Sánchez made his first official visit to South Africa, during which a €2.115 billion financial package was announced over five years to support the green transition of the South African economy and the participation of Spanish companies. Three memoranda of understanding and an agreement were signed between COFIDES and its South African counterpart, IDC, to strengthen their cooperation and invest in private sector-led projects across a wide range of industries, particularly those related to the just energy transition, the automotive sector, and agribusiness. In addition, the Prime Minister invited the South African President to visit Spain, when his schedule allowed, to further deepen bilateral relations. During that visit, Sánchez declared that South Africa is “a key player” in Spain’s global strategy toward Africa, as outlined in the Third Africa Plan and the Africa Focus 2023, which considers South Africa an “anchor country” with which Spain aims to “strengthen bilateral relations and collaboration in multilateral and regional spheres.” Pedro Sánchez returned to South Africa in November 2025 to participate in the Johannesburg Summit during South Africa’s G20 Presidency, accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and the Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo. Cyril Ramaphosa had planned to travel to Spain at the end of 2025, specifically to Seville, to participate in the conference on financing for development, but was forced to cancel the visit due to a serious internal crisis within his government. Spain and South Africa have maintained diplomatic relations since 1951, although it wasn't until the release of the historic anti-racist leader and later president Nelson Mandela in 1990 that institutional ties intensified. Both Spain and South Africa have resident embassies in their respective capitals. In addition, the two countries have held annual bilateral consultations at the level of Secretary of State or Deputy Foreign Minister since 2003. The most recent political consultations took place in December 2025 between the Spanish State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs, Diego Martínez Belío, and his South African counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Alvin Botes, in Madrid.

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