Enoch Godongwana to host US Secretary Janet Yellen

The US Secretary of Treasury will be in the country for a weeklong visit, from Tuesday.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will this week host his United States counterpart, Secretary Janet Yellen.

The US Secretary of Treasury will be in the country for a weeklong visit, from Tuesday.

In a statement, the National Treasury said Yellen, as part of her visit, will meet Minister Godongwana in a bilateral on Thursday morning.

“Areas of cooperation and mutual benefit between the two economies will be discussed, to further the already fruitful ties between the two states,” said the department.

The visit comes four months after Presidency Cyril Ramaphosa embarked on a successful state visit to the US. The visit was at the invitation of President Joseph Biden.

During the visit, the two countries established a joint task force on trade and investment to expand bilateral economic ties.

This came as there was an agreement on the need to create a more attractive environment for American companies to invest in South Africa, where an estimated 600 US companies are already doing business in a range of sectors.

“A joint task force on trade and investment will be established to expand bilateral economic ties,” said the Presidency at the time.

In a meeting between the two in April last year, Yellen reiterated the strength of the United States’ bilateral relationship and underscored the country’s support for a Just Energy Transition that will enable South Africa to sustainably achieve its climate goals and to welcome South Africa’s leadership on responding to COVID-19.

The Secretary discussed the impact on South Africa of the commodity shock triggered by Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and underscored the need for close coordination between our governments to protect our financial sectors from illicit Russian financial activities. The Secretary also commended South Africa’s leadership on debt issues through the G20 Common Framework process.

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)