South Africa Secures Gulf Investment Deals in Mining, Energy and Infrastructure
Pretoria is courting billions from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar to revive its economy even as naval drills with Iran and Russia raise questions among Western investors and trade partners.
rove.meSouth African ministers toured Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE earlier in 2026 seeking investment in infrastructure, logistics, and real estate. Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson led one such trip. 3 billion in 2024 alone.
Abu Dhabi's International Resources Holding signed a strategic agreement with South Africa's Public Investment Corporation covering mining, rail, logistics, and green energy. Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power has explored multibillion-dollar hydrogen and renewable projects with South African partners.
At the 2025 G20 summit in Johannesburg, the UAE pledged $1 billion to expand artificial intelligence infrastructure across Africa.
South Africa sent its navy to participate in drills alongside Iran early in 2026. It also hosted naval exercises called Will for Peace with China, Russia, and Iran off its east coast near the Indian Ocean. International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola stated on May 26 2026 at a Pretoria foreign policy event that South Africa's foreign policy of non-alignment is not anti-West and is a sovereign choice grounded in the constitution and international law.
The African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority in 2024 and now governs in a coalition with the Democratic Alliance. DA defense spokesman Chris Hattingh said that hosting and training with heavily sanctioned forces involved in active conflicts could not be called neutral and that it is a political choice.
Darren Olivier stated that no one regards South Africa as truly non-aligned, that it has virtually ceased military exercises with Western countries, and now primarily conducts them with BRICS states while investing more heavily in military relationships with Russia, Iran, Cuba, and China over the past decade.
In January 2026 South Africa abstained at the UN Human Rights Council on a resolution condemning Iran's deadly crackdown on protesters. Darren Olivier stated that South Africa's closeness with Iran and Russia has already affected investment, international partnerships, and confidence in the country and that it frequently comes up in investor discussions and creates friction around trade relationships with Western countries.
South Africa's manufacturing share of output fell from about 23% in the early 1980s to just over 11%.
South African factory production shrank late in 2025 with steel, machinery, and car plants cutting output and jobs. South African factories are running at about two-thirds capacity due to power cuts and broken rail and port lines. Government debt has reached 77% of the economy.
Unemployment sits above 32%. The Gulf conflict disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz pushing Brent crude above $100 a barrel. In February 2026 the International Monetary Fund expected inflation to ease and economic growth to gradually recover in South Africa.
The South African Reserve Bank warns that inflation could move back toward 5% later in 2026 if oil prices remain elevated. The Trump administration let AGOA lapse on September 30 2025 and renewed it only in February through the end of 2026. Washington imposed a 30% tariff on South African goods the month before AGOA lapsed in 2025.
The US Supreme Court struck down the broad reciprocal tariffs in February 2026. The Trump administration replaced the tariffs with a flat rate of roughly 10% to 15% in 2026. Vehicle shipments from South Africa to the United States fell by about three-quarters in 2025.
South African exports to the United States rose from 238 billion rand ($13 billion) in 2024 to 260 billion rand ($14 billion) in 2025. President Trump boycotted the 2025 G20 summit hosted by South Africa in Johannesburg.
A South African government land audit found that whites own roughly 72% of individually held agricultural and farmland while Black South Africans own about 4%. Siphamandla Zondi stated that South Africa's approach to BRICS and non-alignment is rooted in long-held traditions of South-South cooperation tracing to the Bandung Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement.
President Cyril Ramaphosa stated in March 2026 that South Africa would keep defending international law under the Genocide Convention.
South Africa produces more platinum than any country and supplies much of the world's manganese and chromium.
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