South Africa agrees new climate loan, critical minerals cooperation on Germany visit

Germany has agreed to give South Africa a new 200 million euro ($234 million) concessional climate loan, and the two countries will deepen cooperation in other areas like critical minerals, South Africa’s foreign minister said on Monday.

The loan will support investment in South Africa’s power grid and renewable energy capacity, Minister Ronald Lamola said after talks with German counterpart Johann Wadephul in Berlin.

He said German and European Union funding for green hydrogen and battery value chain cooperation had also been extended by more than 270 million euros.

Lamola thanked Wadephul for German support despite South Africa’s strained relationship with the United States during President Donald Trump’s second term in office.

Trump has excluded South Africa from meetings of the Group of 20 nations this year and criticized its foreign policy and domestic race laws. He boycotted a G20 summit in Johannesburg in November.

Lamola said: “We feel we are part of it (the G20) because of the support that we have received from Germany and from other G20 members.”

($1 = 0.8547 euros)

(By Nilutpal Timsina and Anathi Madubela; Editing by Alexander Winning and Jan Harvey)