South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will travel to the United States on a working visit next week and will meet U.S. President Donald Trump on May 21, Ramaphosa's office said in a statement late on Wednesday.

South African officials have cast the move as a politically motivated attempt to discredit the country. The Trump administration has criticized the South African government for having a close relationship with Iran and for its stance against Israel.

The newly arrived people are from the ethnic minority of Afrikaners, the group of whites who ruled South Africa during apartheid.