EU–South Africa: Signing of Agreement on Strategic Raw Materials
The European Union (EU) and South Africa signed on Thursday a memorandum of understanding on strategic raw materials, ahead of the first-ever G20 summit held on the African continent, local media reported.
This is the fourth such partnership signed between the EU and an African country, after Namibia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia.
The EU is seeking to diversify its supply of these raw materials, which are critical for industries and new technologies.
The partnership is presented as win-win, giving Pretoria not only the ability to extract minerals but also to process them locally and create additional jobs.
“We want to extract these minerals, process them at the point of extraction, add value, so that South Africa starts to move up the chain,” explained South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
This agreement follows almost €12 billion in EU investment in South Africa announced in October, notably through its “Global Gateway” program.
In its most recent list from 2023, the EU identified 34 critical raw materials, including platinum group metals and manganese, which are abundant in South Africa.
South Africa is the EU’s largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa, with €45 billion worth of trade in goods in 2024. The EU also remains the largest source of foreign direct investment for South Africa, accounting for 40% of its FDI.
