The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr. Ronald Lamola, has concluded a successful working visit to Los Angeles, California. The visit forms part of South Africa’s priority of forward-looking economic diplomacy by actively building strategic partnerships.
The visit powerfully showcased South Africa‘s dynamic film, music, and arts sectors, leveraging Los Angeles’s creative leadership to position the nation as a premier destination for international co-productions and cultural exchange.
Minister Lamola met with the influential South African diaspora in Los Angeles. This vital community, comprising executives, academics, entrepreneurs, and creatives, represents an underutilized cultural diplomatic asset. Mobilizing this diaspora amplifies South Africa’s “soft power,” strengthens its global brand, and fosters invaluable business linkages.
Minister Lamola also had productive meetings with Los Angeles City Mayor Karen Bass, and the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) who are key players in South Africa’s bid to shore up public-private partnerships in key sectors of mutual interest.
A core objective was to aggressively promote South Africa as an attractive investment destination. Minister Lamola highlighted a range of compelling investment opportunities in the renewable energy, technology and tourism sectors. These areas align with California’s innovation-driven, sustainability-focused agenda.
Finally, the visit culminated in an outreach at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council and Town Hall. Minister Lamola used the occasion to re-iterate South Africa’s foreign policy is guided by its national interests: tackling poverty, unemployment, and inequality need to advance global democracy; and the rule of international law and multilateralism and on the need to attain international peace.
Minister Lamola now looks forward to New York for the United Nations General Assembly where he will meet with like-minded nations to bring attention to pressing global matters.
