UK-SA’s shared history marked by handover of SS Mendi’s bell
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa will be hosting Prime Minister Theresa May of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on a working visit to South Africa today.
The working visit follows bilateral meetings between Ramaphosa and May during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London from April 19-20 and at the G7 in Canada on June 8-9.
During the bilateral engagements, the two leaders discussed potential partnerships between the UK and South Africa, as well as efforts to strengthen bilateral trade and investment relations.
The working visit by May seeks to further cement economic relations built up over several decades.
The last official visit to South Africa by a sitting UK Prime Minister was in 2011.
Bilateral relations between South Africa and the UK are strong, covering a range of areas of co-operation linked to both governments’ priorities.
These relations are managed through a Bilateral Forum at ministerial level which meets biennially.
The UK was South Africa’s sixthlargest global trading partner in 2017, with total trade at R79.5 billion.
The UK also remains the key source of long-haul tourism to South Africa, with nearly 448 000 visitors in 2017.
During today’s visit, May will present Ramaphosa with the SS Mendi’s bell, which was found in the English Channel a year ago.
In 1917, the SS Mendi was involved in what has been described as one of the 20th Century’s worst maritime disasters in UK waters. On February 21, 1917, a large cargo steamship, Darro, collided with the Mendi in the English Channel, south of the Isle of Wight.
The Mendi sank, killing 646 people – most of whom were black South African troops.
The Mendi was chartered by the British government as a troop carrier to serve in World War 1, carrying 823 members of South Africa’sFifth Battalion. They had completed 34 days of the voyage from Cape Town to England and were on their way to the war in France when tragedy struck in the English Channel.
In 2017, the South African government commemorated the centenary of the sinking of SS Mendi, which resulted in the loss of omore than 800 lives, most of them South African.
The handing over of the SS Mendi bell to the people of South Africa today is seen as a mark of respect for the shared history and bilateral friendship between the two countries.