US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says Washington wants to deepen its economic ties with Africa, during a bilateral meeting with her South African counterpart, Enoch Godongwana.
Ms Yellen is on the last leg of her Africa tour, having previously visited Senegal and Zambia.
Top of the agenda is the restructuring of Zambia’s debt – which the country defaulted on in 2020.
Closer to home, discussions around financing South Africa’s energy transition away from coal towards less carbon-intensive methods will be at the fore.
A figure of $8.5bn (£6.8bn) has been put on the table by the US and some EU countries to fund South Africa’s transition.
Ms Yellen also paid President Cyril Ramaphosa a courtesy visit last night, but no comment was made about the closed-door meeting.
This trip marks the beginning of a year-long US charm offensive in Africa, with President Joe Biden and his deputy expected to visit the continent later in the year.
Over the past week Russian, Chinese and EU officials have also been to the continent to strengthen their relationships.
BBC