Expulsion of SA ambassador to US Ebrahim Rasool regrettable, says Ramaphosa

The presidency has noted the “regrettable” expulsion of SA ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool. 

Tension between SA and the US escalated once more on Friday, with US secretary of state Marco Rubio taking to social media to declare that Rasool was no longer welcome in the US. Rubio described Rasool as a “race-baiting politician who hates America” and its president Donald Trump. 

“We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered persona non grata.”

A senior fellow at conservative think tank the Hudson Institute told Business Day last week that Rasool was struggling to gain access to influential players on Capitol Hill, the seat of US government, due to his views on the Palestine issue and perceptions of support for Hamas. 

This was also reported on by news platform Semafor this week. 

Rubio’s strong reaction was prompted by comments made by Rasool in a webinar organised by the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection on Friday, in which he described the Trump administration as leading a global white supremacist movement.

Rasool in the webinar sought to explain Trump’s stance toward SA. The US president has been leading the charge against SA for what he describes as “terrible things” happening to white South Africans in the country, based on agitating by right-wing SA groups Afriforum and Solidarity. 

The presidency on Saturday urged all those impacted on by Rasool’s expulsion to “maintain the established diplomatic decorum in their engagement with the matter”.

“South Africa remains committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the United States of America,” spokesman Vincent Magwenya said in a statement. 

In the two-hour long webinar on Friday, Rasool spoke at length about the importance of mending ties between SA and the US, given its significance as a trading partner. 

The US is SA’s second-largest trading partner and its largest export market in terms of manufactured goods. 

He emphasised the need for a transactional approach to dealing with the Trump administration, while also maintaining SA’s values. 

As relations between the SA and the US further deteriorated, a visit by the European Union (EU) Commission this week solidified ties between the continental block and Pretoria. EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said during the first EU Commission-SA summit since 2018 that SA had a key role to play on the world stage as a leading voice in the global south.  

The commission announced a €4.7bn investment package for SA during the visit.