French President on a two-day visit to South Africa
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in South Africa on Friday, a day after a historical visit to Rwanda.
#StateVisit French President @EmmanuelMacron arrives at the @UnionBuildings in Pretoria for his State visit to South Africa. @eNCA pic.twitter.com/LEwvuvCq1t
— Siphamandla Goge (@SiphamandlaGoge) May 28, 2021
The SouthAfrica-French #diplomatic & #foreignpolicy relationship weaves in the role #women played in #SouthAfrica‘s liberation.
President @CyrilRamaphosa explaining the significance of the grinding stone to President @EmmanuelMacron.
National interests at play.#FranceInSA https://t.co/9ot3qo2HkS
— Pearl Matibe (@PearlMatibe) May 28, 2021
Macron was welcomed by his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, at Union Buildings in Pretoria. The two leaders were expected to talk mainly about the pandemic and access to COVID-19 vaccines in Africa.
What a great day!
German Minister of Health Jens Spahn arriving at OR Tambo just now, ahead of State Visit of French President Macron to South Africa!French-German-South African partnership and cooperation on vaccine production in Africa in the making!#WeAreInThisTogether pic.twitter.com/oQNOIUSc6J
— Martin Schäfer (@AmbSchaefer) May 28, 2021
Macron said on Thursday that it was a “moral duty” to help African countries vaccinate their populations against COVID-19.
Earlier this month, Macron welcomed the US call to remove patent protections on COVID-19 vaccines to help poor countries obtain shots. But Macron insisted that a waiver would not solve the problem of access to vaccines.
He said manufacturers in places like Africa are currently not equipped to make COVID-19 vaccines, so donations of shots from wealthier countries should be given priority instead.
South Africa has been the country hit hardest by the pandemic; Africa with more than 1.6 million confirmed infections and more than 55,000 reported deaths.
Suzan O/AFP
