Congratulatory message on victory of President-elect Joseph Biden of the United States of America

8 November 2020

On behalf of the Government and people of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended congratulations to President-elect Joseph R. Biden of the United States following elections held on 03 November 2020.

South Africa and the United States enjoy historic relations. 

The United States contributed to the liberation struggle in South Africa and continued to provide support to help consolidate democracy after South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994.

Bilateral cooperation between the two countries spans a range of areas, including trade and investment, health, education, energy, environment, science and innovation, safety and security, as well as regional cooperation to support the African Union’s objectives for peace, security, and development.

More recently, the United States Government provided generous financial and technical support to help South Africa’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, thus building on the highly successful platform of health cooperation under the PEPFAR framework.

President Ramaphosa indicated that South Africa looks forward to working with President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to further strengthen the bonds of cooperation and friendship between our two countries and peoples, including enhanced collaboration within the multilateral context to address global challenges such as climate change, human rights, peace and security, terrorism, nuclear safety, poverty, underdevelopment, economic recovery, and inclusive growth, and to prevent future pandemics.

Issued by Tyrone Seale, Acting Spokesperson to President Ramaphosa, 8 November 2020