Yellen welcomes South Africa’s vitality transition, steers away from Russia point out

By Andrea Shalal

PRETORIA, Jan 26 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday lauded South Africa’s “daring” participation within the so-called Simply Power Transition Partnership backed by america and different Western nations, however steered away from mentioning U.S. issues about Pretoria’s deliberate navy drills with China and Russia.

Yellen spoke to reporters alongside South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in Pretoria on the third leg of her almost two-week tour of Africa, and simply days after Russian Overseas Minister Sergei Lavrov visited South Africa.

In ready remarks, Yellen welcomed Godongwana’s “cooperation and insightful views” of their talks thus far, and mentioned she deliberate to lift a number of points, together with Zambia’s stalled sovereign debt restructuring effort, given South Africa’s key function on the nation’s creditor committee.

“America strongly values our relationship with South Africa,” Yellen mentioned in remarks that included no point out of Russia or China, or White Home issues about Pretoria’s plans to carry joint navy drills with each nations.

The U.S. Treasury issued no assertion about Yellen’s closed-door assembly on Wednesday with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, a gathering described by Pretoria as a “courtesy name.”

South Africa has remained certainly one of Moscow’s most necessary allies on a continent divided over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Yellen’s journey kicked off a yearlong allure offensive of U.S. prime chief visits to Africa geared toward deepening U.S. financial ties with the continent and countering China’s lengthy dominance of commerce and lending with many African nations.

All through her go to, Yellen has emphasised the correct of nations to decide on their buying and selling companions, whereas pitching the better transparency and lasting nature of engagement with america.

The Treasury secretary, who meets with South Africa’s central financial institution governor in a while Thursday, singled out South Africa’s “Simply Power Transition Partnership,” which was backed in late 2021 by america, Britain, France, Germany and the European Union. They pledged a mixed $8.5 billion to speed up South Africa’s transition away from fossil fuels to renewable vitality, however the complete invoice might be a lot greater.

“This partnership represents South Africa’s daring first step towards increasing electrical energy entry and reliability and making a low carbon and local weather resilient financial system,” Yellen mentioned, including that it could “alleviate the deep fiscal pressure the vitality sector is placing on South Africa’s financial system.”

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal in Pretoria Enhancing by Matthew Lewis)