Zelenskyy to be in South Africa on Thurs together with Svyrydenko, presidential plane already over Africa
The Office of the President of the Republic of South Africa has confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be on a working visit to South Africa on April 24.
According to South African publication Eyewitness News, the agenda for Zelenskyy's visit to Pretoria has not been made public yet, but he is expected to speak with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa about the war in Ukraine.
"Ramaphosa leads the African Peace Initiative, a mission of several African heads of state aimed at achieving a peaceful settlement between the two countries," the publication says.
In turn, First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko reported that she is already paying a visit to the Republic of South Africa on Wednesday and Thursday, April 23-24.
"For the first time, a Ukrainian delegation with the participation of ministers and business representatives came on an official visit to South Africa to build business partnerships. Our trade relations with this region have great potential for development ... It is important for us to increase the export of our goods to the South African market and I believe that our visit will contribute to this. Thanks to the support of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ukrainian CCI), teams from the agro-processing, infrastructure, construction and mechanical engineering sectors came with us - with a focus on the agro-industrial complex," she wrote on Facebook.
The Deputy Prime Minister reported on a meeting with more than 30 entrepreneurs - members of the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry and noted the active interest in Ukrainian agriculture, digitalization, energy, medical and educational spheres.
The presidential Airbus A319 Corporate Jet took off from Rzeszow, Poland, on Wednesday morning with a delay, landed at 16:18 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, probably for refueling, and continued its flight towards South Africa at 18:21.
As reported, on Tuesday, Zelenskyy announced a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa "in the coming days." Earlier, the media reported that the meeting was supposed to take place on April 10.