France hosts S.Africa leader for talks, war remembrance

President Cyril Ramaphosa will take part in a commemoration on Sunday for South African soldiers killed in World War I, as part of a three-day visit to France.

It marks the 110th anniversary of the Battle of Delville Wood in Longueval, northern France, where several hundred South Africans were killed.

Ramaphosa met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday, a French diplomatic source said, noting that the two found "broad convergence of views" on crises in the Middle East and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

They shared the same assessment of the "crisis in the Gulf and the economic consequences of the situation in the Strait of Hormuz", where shipping has been disrupted by the US-Iran war, the source said.

The two presidents agreed on the need to "encourage regional efforts for peace and security" around war-torn eastern DRC, where "South Africa plays a stabilising role", the source added.

Macron and Ramaphosa agreed to establish an "annual bilateral dialogue at the level of foreign ministers".

South Africa announced in March that Ramaphosa was no longer invited by France to the G7 summit held in June in Evian, southern France, citing US pressure.

France said it had been under no pressure from US President Donald Trump and had simply limited the number of invited countries to improve the effectiveness of discussions.

Macron hosted a dinner in Ramaphosa's honour on Friday evening at the Elysee Palace following their talks, attended by families of heroes of the anti-apartheid struggle.

On Saturday the South African leader was scheduled to meet French business leaders ahead of the ceremony the following day.