Relationship dossier
South Africa
United Kingdom
Relationship assessment
A broad South Africa–United Kingdom partnership combines sustained cooperation with occasional foreign-policy differences.
South Africa toward United Kingdom
+45South Africa participates in the bilateral forum and strategic partnership with the United Kingdom, supporting government engagement on trade, investment and other shared issues. South Africa’s participation in naval exercises with Russia and China in 2023 drew concern from the United Kingdom and highlighted foreign-policy differences.
United Kingdom toward South Africa
+45The United Kingdom participates in the bilateral forum and strategic partnership with South Africa, maintaining government cooperation on trade, investment and other shared issues. The UK also raised concerns about South Africa’s participation in naval exercises with Russia and China in 2023.
Overall relationship
+45The relationship is underpinned by durable bilateral mechanisms and cooperation across several policy areas, including trade and investment. It is a substantial partnership rather than an unqualified alignment: South Africa’s approach to Russia has at times diverged from UK policy and prompted public concern.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
South Africa and the United Kingdom maintain a substantial bilateral partnership, including a longstanding bilateral forum and a strategic partnership covering areas such as trade, investment and security. Their governments cooperate across multiple fields, while differences have surfaced over South Africa’s engagement with Russia, including naval exercises involving Russia and China in 2023.
Areas of tension
- South Africa’s engagement with Russia, including participation in naval exercises with Russia and China in 2023, has drawn UK concern.
Key developments
The South Africa–United Kingdom Bilateral Forum was established to provide a regular framework for government dialogue.
The two governments elevated their relationship through a strategic partnership covering cooperation in areas including trade and investment.
South Africa took part in naval exercises with Russia and China, prompting concern from the United Kingdom.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of cooperation under the bilateral strategic partnership are unclear.
- The extent to which recent disagreements over South Africa’s engagement with Russia affect broader government cooperation is uncertain.