EU and South Africa advance cooperation on clean trade and investment

The EU and South Africa have just signed a landmark Clean Trade and Investment Partnership, along with a new cooperation agreement on minerals and metals value chains and new projects under Global Gateway, Europe’s investment strategy for the world.

Announced by President Ursula von der Leyen and President António Costa together with President Cyril Ramaphosa at a Leaders’ meeting in Johannesburg a day before the G20 Summit, these initiatives reinforce clean and resilient supply chains, support local strategic industries, and accelerate investments in green hydrogen and critical raw materials.

President von der Leyen said: “2025 has already been a landmark year for EU–South Africa relations, and today we are taking it even further by signing the first-ever Clean Trade and Investment Partnership. This new, dynamic form of trade agreement brings together competitiveness and climate action. We are stepping up mutually beneficial cooperation in the clean economy and on critical raw materials. And we are hosting the final pledging event of our ‘Scaling Up Renewables for Africa’ campaign to help power a clean future for the continent.”

Today at 15:30 SAST, President von der Leyen and President Ramaphosa will host the final pledging event of ‘Scaling Up Renewables for Africa’, a year-long campaign launched at the G20 Summit in Rio to mobilise financing for clean energy, electrification, and clean cooking solutions across the continent.

Last November 20, the Leaders agreed on the following:

Clean Trade and Investment Partnership (CTIP) 

The EU and South Africa signed a Clean Trade and Investment Partnership, the first of its kind, designed to drive mutually beneficial trade, investment and job creation while supporting decarbonisation and clean supply chains. This new type of cooperation will strengthen the EU’s position as a partner of choice for countries committed to the clean transition.

For the EU, it will help to diversify partnerships, create new investment opportunities for companies, and strengthen access to essential raw materials. For South Africa, it will support sustainable industrial growth, local job creation and broader decarbonisation efforts.

The CTIP will focus on building clean supply chains in areas like renewable energy, electricity grid, clean fuels, raw materials, and clean technologies.

MoU on a partnership on minerals and metals value chains 

The EU and South Africa signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a partnership on sustainable minerals and metals value chains, following agreements with Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Namibia. The MoU was signed on behalf of the EU by Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, Stéphane Séjourné. The partnership is grounded in shared objectives and mutual benefits. It aims to identify and jointly develop industrial projects of common interest across the exploration, extraction, refining and recycling of minerals and metals, thereby strengthening the economic and industrial integration of both value chains.

Global Gateway signatures

Several projects illustrate the rapid rollout of the nearly €12 billion Team Europe Investment package, presented by Presidents von der Leyen and Ramaphosa in Brussels on 9 October 2025. They form part of the Global Gateway portfolio, translating our shared priorities into concrete, high-impact investments:

• Three Team Europe investment facilities to boost investments in green hydrogen and e-batteries, sustainable critical raw materials value chains, and an enabling environment. The package is worth almost €328 million and will be mobilised in close partnership with KfW and GIZ, Germany’s development bank and cooperation agency.
• Two framework loans with the European Investment Bank (EIB) will support major projects in South Africa:
  • Frist, a €350 million EIB loan with a €21 million EU grant will support South Africa’s freight and logistics company Transnet to modernise its rail, port, and pipeline infrastructure.
  • Second, in partnership with the Gates Foundation, the Commission has approved a guarantee for an EIB loan to expand vaccine production in South Africa through a large-scale, multi-vaccine facility. This builds on Team Europe’s €700 million support for the country’s pharmaceutical sector and contributes to Africa’s goal of producing 60% of its vaccines locally by 2040.

Background

2025 has been a key year for the EU-South Africa partnership. A Ministerial meeting in February was followed by a successful Summit in March. At the Global Gateway Forum in October, Team Europe and South Africa mobilised an investment package of nearly €12 billion to support energy, digital connectivity, sustainable infrastructure and pharmaceuticals.

Following the G20 Summit in South Africa, both President von der Leyen and President Costa will head to Luanda, Angola, for the first EU-African Union Summit on 24-25 November.

More information: European Commission