President Cyril Ramaphosa has reaffirmed South Africa's commitment to strengthening trade and diplomatic relations with Switzerland during his historic state visit to Bern. The visit, the first by a democratic South African president, included bilateral talks and the signing of new cooperation agreements. Leaders highlighted shared values and opportunities for deeper collaboration.
President Cyril Ramaphosa's two-day state visit to Switzerland marked a historic milestone as the first such visit by a democratic South African president. In Bern, he held official talks with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, focusing on trade, investment, and global peace efforts.
The visit began with ceremony in the Swiss capital, where Ramaphosa addressed members of the Federal Assembly. He emphasized shared values of peace, democracy, and development underpinning the relations between the two nations. A key moment was Switzerland's handover of sacred artefacts belonging to South Africa’s Nkuna royal family, which Ramaphosa described as a gesture of reconciliation. “This act of repatriation speaks to who we are – both Switzerland and South Africa. It speaks to our shared belief that dialogue can heal what conflict has broken, and that the dignity of every human being transcends borders and time,” he said.
Bilateral discussions prominently featured trade relations, with both sides seeking to expand market access and reduce barriers to commerce. Ramaphosa viewed recent tariff impositions as a challenge that encourages trade diversification, noting recent engagements in Southeast Asia. “But more importantly, what these tariff impositions have done is to make us want to diversify our trade reach… We’ve just returned from Southeast Asia… and we expect that we will be able to raise the trade dealings with Switzerland to a higher level as well, following on this very successful state visit,” he stated.
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter praised the bilateral progress and reaffirmed Switzerland's support for South Africa’s economic and democratic development. “This visit underscores the friendship and trust between our two nations. We are committed to working together in areas such as peace mediation, education, and sustainable trade that benefit both our people,” she said.
The leaders signed new cooperation agreements in arts, culture, and heritage, as well as in peace mediation and democracy resilience. These pacts aim to deepen ties in trade, youth development, and beyond, representing a commitment to multilateralism and shared prosperity between Africa and Europe.