Magwenya accepted the decision by the US.
“It's their prerogative to do so. Other countries have exercised similar decisions when they feel the need to do so. What is at stake now is not so much what has happened; it is what we are able to do to find common ground with the US and reset this relationship.”
Magwenya said the government would continue to engage the US on various matters, including trade. He said the department of trade, industry and competition (DTIC) is looking at a trade deal proposal to present to the Trump administration.
“It's a vital relationship from a trade point of view, also from a political and diplomatic point of view. We have to work with the US within the G20 as part of the troika and there are opportunities available to us that we can utilise to reset this relationship — and that's how we move forward.
“We have areas of alignment and convergence between ourselves and the US, and we would like to focus on those areas and build on them in terms of taking the relationship forward, so not all is lost.”
The department of international relations and co-operation is compiling a list of recommendations Ramaphosa will consider to replace Rasool, he added.
“There's a sense of urgency to ensure that we have adequate representation in Washington to carry forward the work that we need done there.”
TimesLIVE
'Not all is lost': Pretoria focused on resuscitating relationship with Washington, says Presidency
Journalist
Image: Karen Moolman
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says President Cyril Ramaphosa is now focused on resetting the relationship between Pretoria and Washington DC.
This follows the US government's decision to expel former South Africa's ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool last week after he made controversial remarks about US President Donald Trump's administration, accusing it of promoting supremacism.
Rasool was ordered to leave the country.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika on the way forward, Magwenya said the focus is on fixing the relationship with the US.
“We are at a stage where we've accepted that the US has chosen to exercise its prerogative with respect to expelling the ambassador. We're not going to spend our energies conducting a postmortem on the reasons and the back-and-forth. Our focus is on how we move forward,” he said.
“We have an important relationship that we need to maintain and reset. That's what we're going to focus on.”
POLL | Is the expulsion of SA’s ambassador to US justified?
Magwenya accepted the decision by the US.
“It's their prerogative to do so. Other countries have exercised similar decisions when they feel the need to do so. What is at stake now is not so much what has happened; it is what we are able to do to find common ground with the US and reset this relationship.”
Magwenya said the government would continue to engage the US on various matters, including trade. He said the department of trade, industry and competition (DTIC) is looking at a trade deal proposal to present to the Trump administration.
“It's a vital relationship from a trade point of view, also from a political and diplomatic point of view. We have to work with the US within the G20 as part of the troika and there are opportunities available to us that we can utilise to reset this relationship — and that's how we move forward.
“We have areas of alignment and convergence between ourselves and the US, and we would like to focus on those areas and build on them in terms of taking the relationship forward, so not all is lost.”
The department of international relations and co-operation is compiling a list of recommendations Ramaphosa will consider to replace Rasool, he added.
“There's a sense of urgency to ensure that we have adequate representation in Washington to carry forward the work that we need done there.”
TimesLIVE
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