President Donald Trump has a keen interest in South Africa, says the state department\u2019s Tibor Nagy who is currently on an official visit to the country.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Bloomberg<\/a><\/strong>, Nagy said that the land debate is being monitored closely and that Sub-Saharan African countries eligible for the African Growth and Opportunity Act have to commit to protecting private property rights.<\/p>\n “As everybody knows, President Trump has asked secretary Pompeo to monitor the situation, to look at it carefully, which is what we are doing because that could be a loaded issue that US investors would take a very close look at, when taking a decision on whether or not to invest in South Africa,” Nagy said.<\/p>\n The US is South Africa\u2019s third-largest trading partner, with two-way trade in 2018 of $13.7 billion, according to Nagy.<\/p>\n Imports from South Africa include everything from precious metals, iron, steel and aluminium, to automobiles, car parts and millions of cartons of citrus and table grapes from the Northern and Western Cape.<\/p>\n Debt<\/strong><\/p>\n During his visit, Nagy also warned that African countries running up debt they won\u2019t be able to pay back, including to China, should not expect to be bailed out by western-sponsored debt relief.<\/p>\n