Europe and South Africa have opened government talks under their Clean Trade and Investment Partnership to advance clean and resilient supply chains.
The agenda covers project pipelines, trade facilitation, standards and regulatory clarity for clean-economy investment.
Exporters, importers and manufacturers will track rules, energy reforms and critical raw materials cooperation.
The project pipeline includes South Africa’s electricity grid expansion, renewable energy, sustainable aviation fuels, critical raw materials and green hydrogen. Trade facilitation work will involve sharing information on recent regulatory processes and providing clarifications to industry, while regulatory cooperation will cover standards and implementation frameworks for the green transition.
The European Commission said South Africa aims to reform its electricity sector and build approximately 14,500 km of new transmission lines in the next decade. It said the CTIP is intended to promote investment opportunities in clean supply chains and generate mutual benefits for the EU and South Africa.
According to the commission, the EU and South Africa signed the first CTIP in November 2025. In March this year, the two sides organised the first Business-to-Government dialogue under the partnership to gather business views and priorities for implementation.
South Africa is the EU’s first CTIP partner and its largest investment partner in Sub-Saharan Africa, while the EU is the leading investor in South Africa, representing over 40 per cent of foreign direct investment, the Commission said in an article on its official site.
Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships are a new policy tool announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in 2024 to support the EU’s decarbonisation and competitiveness objectives as an external instrument of the Clean Industrial Deal. For supply-chain decision-makers, the next phase will be watched for regulatory clarity, standards alignment and bankable clean-economy projects.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk
