President Cyril Ramaphosa says he is expecting a full report from expelled South African ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool.
Rasool was expelled from the US on Saturday following remarks he made about the Trump administration during a webinar last week.
He has been given until Friday, March 21 to leave the country.
Ramaphosa spoke on the sidelines after delivering the keynote address at the Bana Pele Early Childhood Development Leadership Summit in Braamfontein, Gauteng.
“Ebrahim Rasool will be coming back soon as the US State Department has ruled that he is no longer acceptable in the US, and he is going to come back and give me a full report. So, I will wait for a full report from him. But at the same time, we have noted the displeasure that has been expressed by the US, particularly about the remarks he made. And we will engage with them as we are already engaging with them.”
President Ramaphosa says Ambassador Ibrahim Rasool will be coming back from USA and will get a report from him on the status of the United States of America. Rasool was declared a “persona non grata” in that USA. #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/in49TBgwQc
— #LordOfTheMedia (@samkelemaseko) March 17, 2025
The presidency says it is focused on restoring South Africa’s relationship with the United States (US) following Rasool’s expulsion.
The US will today officially strip Rasool of his recognition, privileges and immunities.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says a delegation will be sent to the US with a mutually beneficial trade deal proposal in an attempt to bring the two countries together.
“There is still a huge opportunity for us to grow and expand our trade relationship with the US, hence, the work that’s being led by the DTIC to look at a formulation of a trade proposal that we can put before the Trump administration and then take things from there. And so, in time we will be able to secure the right level audiences with the Trump administration over something that will tangibly bring us together and assist us in mapping the way forward in maintaining this historic diplomatic and strategic relationship with the US.”
VIDEO | The US announced on X that Ebrahim Rasool is a persona non grata:
PRESIDENCY NOTES RASOOL EXPULSION
The Presidency has noted the regrettable expulsion of South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States of America, Mr. Ebrahim Rasool.
The Presidency urges all relevant and impacted stakeholders to maintain the established diplomatic decorum in…
— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) March 15, 2025
Meanwhile, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) in the Western Cape says one of the resolutions taken at its 6th Congress held at the weekend is to welcome Rasool back into the province.
Provincial Secretary Malvern De Bruyn says they had a successful Congress where a number of resolutions were taken.
“Ebrahim Rasool is one of us. He’s a child of the soil and as Cosatu we’ve decided in this Congress that when he arrives in the Western Cape, we will go in our numbers to the Cape Town International Airport to welcome him back to this province. As Cosatu we reject what the Trump government is currently doing, dealing with Africa for the wrong reasons. So, we are saying that we will welcome him back to say come back home.”
