As they meet for lunch today in Downing Street, the South African president will urge Rishi Sunak to increase the number of South Africans studying in the UK.
On the second day of his official visit, Cyril Ramaphosa will press Prime Minister Theresa May for more access to the British school system.
Mr Ramaphosa became the first South African president since Nelson Mandela in 1996 to address MPs and peers in Westminster yesterday.
During their discussions, he indicated he would make the case to Mr Sunak for a significant increase of South African PHD students in the UK.
Before meeting the president, Mr Sunak said that he wanted to “turbocharge infrastructure investment and economic growth together.”
They have formed an infrastructure partnership to promote South Africa’s economic growth via significant infrastructure initiatives, as well as to provide improved access to projects worth up to £5.37 billion over the next three years to UK firms.
Mr Sunak said: ‘South Africa is already the UK’s biggest trading partner on the continent, and we have ambitious plans to turbocharge infrastructure investment and economic growth together.’
Buckingham Palace hosted a magnificent banquet in honour of the president last night, with guests feasting on grilled brill (a tiny flat fish), pheasant from the Windsor estate, and iced vanilla parfait with caramelised apples for dessert.
Strictly Come Dancing star Johannes Radebe, who is originally from South Africa, was among the 163 guests at the white-tie event, which also included presenter Zeinab Badawi, interior designer Kelly Hoppen, and endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh.
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride disputed the event was overly lavish in the midst of the cost-of-living crisis, claiming the visit would assist the economy.
Mr Stride told LBC: ‘Right at the heart, actually, of our soft power, as it’s often called, is this ability to project our sense of history and pageant.’
Asked about the timing, with people struggling with the cost of living, Mr Stride said: ‘I would see it in terms of engaging with our most important trading partner on the continent of Africa, with whom we have very important ties of history and trade and economics.
‘What really we want to come out of this is a stronger and healthier UK economy – and that benefits everybody.
‘I think, whether it’s pheasant on the plate or pie and mash, I think if that can be achieved, then that’s the biggest prize.’
In his speech to Parliament yesterday, Mr Ramaphosa argued for greater trade and investment opportunities including to help his nation deal with power blackouts.
He said more than 800 South Africans have benefited from the Chevening scholarship programme, and there are over 130 South African PhD candidates studying in the UK.
‘I would like to see these numbers being increased threefold. And when I meet the Prime Minister tomorrow that’s particularly the message I’m going to pass on to him,’ the president said.
‘I hope he’s here and he’s listening ahead of my discussions with him tomorrow.’
Mr Sunak, who attended a guard of honour for the president and joined the Buckingham Palace banquet last night, was not in the audience.
However, former prime minister Boris Johnson was, as were Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who wants to cut immigration, and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Ramaphosa spoke of ‘new and exciting ways’ for British businesses to build closer ties as he rebuilds South Africa from the coronavirus pandemic and years of ‘grand corruption’.
‘There are few countries that have the depth of experience and knowledge of the South African economy than Britain. British companies need to use this advantage to greater effect to seek out opportunities in our country for investment and trade,’ he said.
The president said economic reforms including a major restructuring of the energy market to ‘address severe power shortages’ make for ‘great opportunities for foreign investment, for innovation and partnership’.
Mr Ramaphosa said the UK-South Africa relationship has ‘had its ups and downs’, with his nation having won independence from the British Empire.
‘But I want to capitalise on its ups because it’s through capitalising on the positive sides of our relationship that we’re able to have a mutually beneficial future,’ he said.
He urged the UK to ‘raise its voice in favour of more representative and more inclusive international bodies’, including the UN security council and global financial institutions.
And he called for industrialised nations to pay significant compensation to developing nations to help them tackle the climate crisis.
‘This should not be seen as charity. It is compensation for the harm done – and the harm yet to be done – to people in developing economies as a consequence of the industrialisation that wealthy countries have had over many years,’ he said.