Réunion Island Absent from South Africa Trade

Leaders from Réunion Island, France, secretly funded Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress over forty years ago, and Paul Vergès secured early international sanctions against South Africa. Today, South Africa is statistically absent from Réunion’s foreign trade, despite proclamations of shared history and anti-apartheid solidarity.

Réunion once exported agricultural expertise to South Africa, with the first sugarcane plants reaching Natal in 1851. Now, the island finds itself economically marginalized by the industry it helped create. For 150 years, no lasting institutional cooperation agreements exist between the two territories.

Researcher’s theorize that Réunion exhibits a “sanblan”—a posture of appearing to cooperate without substantial action—particularly in its dealings with South Africa. This manifests as missed opportunities and unfulfilled promises.

The Interreg Indian Ocean program, meant to foster regional cooperation, remains unsigned by South Africa due to a dispute over Mayotte, hindering Réunion’s economic integration. In 2023, Réunion imported 7.1 billion euros worth of goods, but South Africa accounted for none of its notable exports. The work to overcome this political impasse and build economic ties continues.