Ramaphosa, Trump meeting again at G7

This time, it will be on the sidelines of the G7 in Canada next week.

Speaking to reporters in Pretoria on Tuesday, the president said his recent visit to the White House was not a courtesy call -- but a deliberate move to protect trade ties and South African jobs.

" Many people were very critical of our going there, and some were even saying, we are going to keep in hand. We were not, and some were even suggesting that we were summoned. We were not summoned. In my telephone conversation with President Trump two weeks earlier, I said, I want to come and see you and he immediately conceded to that, and later they gave us a date." 

READ: Ramaphosa maintains cool in tense Trump meeting

He says he'll meet with the US president and other leaders next week to discuss repositioning South Africa in what he calls a very turbulent geopolitical architecture.

" That is why it was important to go to the United States, as we will go to many other countries, both on our own continent, in the Middle East and in Asia, in Europe as well. 

"So we are a country that is exposed and has relations with many countries around the world, and where there are challenges and problems, we should immediately take action to correct those."

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