South African President Requests UK Prime Minister to Ease Travel Restrictions

Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has requested British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to remove South Africa from the list of travel-restricted 'red countries.'

President Ramaphosa revealed this during a live national address on the evening of the 30th of last month (local time), stating that "Johnson said he 'understands very well.'"

Earlier, the UK placed South Africa and other countries on the red list, requiring its citizens to quarantine for 10 days if they return from South Africa. The UK is South Africa's largest source of tourism revenue among Northern Hemisphere countries and also has significant trade relations.

However, the UK excluded other African countries such as Kenya and Egypt from the red list but maintained South Africa's status due to the Beta variant originating there, which sparked backlash within South Africa. Additionally, the UK appeared to distrust the COVID-19 vaccines administered in South Africa, leading to calls for President Ramaphosa to intervene directly to resolve the issue.

On the day, President Ramaphosa pointed out, "While British scientists are concerned about the Beta variant, in reality, the (India-origin) Delta variant is much more dominant." The Delta variant is also dominant in the UK. He added, "We agree that decisions should be based on scientific knowledge (in discussions), and we hope this issue will be reviewed within the next few days with a positive outcome."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.