Negotiations between SA, Cuba and Angola start in London

Date: 3 May 1988
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Negotiations between SA, Cuba and Angola start in London

Representatives of South Africa, the United States (US), Angola and Cuba met in London (3-4 May) in search of a solution to the Angolan war and independence for Namibia. These negotiations heralded the end of foreign intervention in the war in Angola and the ultimate independence of South West Africa/Namibia. Neil van Heerden, SA director general of foreign affairs, led the South African delegation. The meetings, hosted by the US and led by Chester Crocker, took place in the informal atmosphere of London coffee shops in various venues. Also present at the first meeting at the coffee station at Brown's Hotel, were Gen. Jannie Geldenhuys (South Africa), Gen. Rosales del Toro (Cuba) and Antonio Dos Santos Franca 'Ndalu' (Angola). This meeting was followed in the same month by meetings in Congo-Brazzaville and the groundbreaking Cairo summit.

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How we know this

01Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.
02Mills, G. & Williams, D. (2006). 7 Battles that shaped South Africa, Cape Town: Tafelberg, p.180-181.

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Negotiations between SA, Cuba and Angola start in London. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012742

South African History Online (2011) 'Negotiations between SA, Cuba and Angola start in London', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012742 (Accessed: 21 August 2026).

South African History Online, Negotiations between SA, Cuba and Angola start in London [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012742, (accessed 21 August 2026).

"Negotiations between SA, Cuba and Angola start in London." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012742. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "Negotiations between SA, Cuba and Angola start in London." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012742.