Godongwana Leads South Africa Delegation to Davos as Ramaphosa Skips; WEF Africa Summit 2027 Announced
DAVOS, 22 January 2026. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana led a six-minister South African delegation to the 56th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland this week, after President Cyril Ramaphosa cited "scheduling priorities" for his absence from the gathering of some...
Godongwana Leads South Africa Delegation to Davos as Ramaphosa Skips; WEF Africa Summit 2027 Announced
DAVOS, 22 January 2026. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana led a six-minister South African delegation to the 56th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland this week, after President Cyril Ramaphosa cited "scheduling priorities" for his absence from the gathering of some 3,000 government, business, and civil-society leaders under the theme "A Spirit of Dialogue."
The South African delegation included Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola, Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau, Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille, and Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni. Godongwana characterised the delegation's message as more optimistic than in previous years: "We returned not with promises, but with real successes."
In engagements with potential investors and business leaders, the ministers highlighted South Africa's removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in 2025, the S&P Global sovereign credit-rating upgrade, the country's first in approximately two decades, and the structural reforms delivered through Operation Vulindlela, which has stabilised electricity supply, improved port and freight-rail operations, and attracted higher infrastructure investment. Godongwana also pointed to the South African Reserve Bank's reduction of its headline inflation target to 3%, describing it as an anchor that reduces the cost of doing business and provides investor certainty.
On South Africa's G20 Presidency, which runs through November 2026, the Finance Minister described it as "an increasingly rare opportunity for economic cooperation" and positioned the country as a potential mediator on international debt relief, climate finance, global taxation, and multilateral institutional reform.
The most concrete announcement of the week came from Minister Lamola, who confirmed that South Africa had been selected to host the World Economic Forum's Special Davos Meeting in 2027, the first time the annual spring gathering convened outside Switzerland. The WEF Africa Summit 2027 is expected to support the hospitality, transport, and logistics sectors and to showcase South Africa's investment climate to an international audience.
Ramaphosa's absence drew comment. Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya offered no further explanation beyond "scheduling priorities." The president had also skipped Davos in 2020 and 2023, on both occasions citing domestic electricity-crisis management. His non-attendance this year coincided with a period of heightened global uncertainty, including United States President Donald Trump's trade-tariff announcements, which dominated discussions in Switzerland.
The WEF Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters is held each January and brings together heads of state, chief executives, and civil society leaders to discuss global economic and political challenges.