Wednesday 23 November 2022 09:05 AM South African president urges PM to let more students come to UK trends now
The South African president will urge Rishi Sunak to treble numbers coming to study in the UK as they meet for lunch in Downing Street today.
Cyril Ramaphosa is to push the PM for more access to the British education system on the second day of his state visit.
Yesterday Mr Ramaphosa became the first South African president to address MPs and Peers at Westminster since Nelson Mandela in 1996.
He said he would make the case to Mr Sunak for a dramatic rise in South African PHD students in the UK during their talks.
Cyril Ramaphosa (pictured last night) is to push the PM for more access to the British education system on the second day of his state visit
He said he would make the case to Mr Sunak (pictured) for a dramatic rise in South African PHD students in the UK during their talks
King Charles III stands next to South African president Cyril Ramaphosa as the monarch gives a speech at a state banquet in Buckingham Palace last night
Mr Sunak said he wants to 'turbocharge infrastructure investment and economic growth together' with South Africa ahead of meeting the president.
They have launched an infrastructure partnership to support South Africa's economic growth through major infrastructure developments and offering increased access to UK companies to projects worth up to £5.37billion over the next three years.
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 lavish banquet in honour of the president last night, with guests dining on grilled brill – a delicate flat fish – followed by pheasant from the Windsor estate and, for dessert, iced vanilla parfait with caramelised apples.
Strictly star Johannes Radebe, originally from South Africa, was among the 163 guests at the white-tie dinner, joining broadcaster Zeinab Badawi, interior designer Kelly Hoppen and endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh.
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride denied the event was too extravagant amid the cost of living crisis, saying said the visit will help boost 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
