President Jacob Zuma has congratulated United States president-elect Donald Trump, the department of international relations said on Wednesday morning.

“President Jacob Zuma has today, on behalf of the government and the people of South Africa, congratulated president-elect Donald Trump for winning the presidential elections that were held in the United States on November 8 2016,” it said in a statement.

“President Zuma conveyed his best wishes to the president-elect and looked forward to working with president-elect Trump to build on the strong relations that exist between the two countries.

“He underlined that South Africa further looked forward to working closely with the new Administration in the United States in promoting peace, security and prosperity around the world, especially on the African continent.”

Trump previously took to Twitter to express his sentiments about South Africa, saying when former president Nelson Mandela died: “I really like Nelson Mandela but South Africa is a crime-ridden mess that is just waiting to explode — not a good situation for the people!”

When xenophobic violence broke out last year, he tweeted: “As I have long been saying, South Africa is a total — and very dangerous — mess. Just watch the evening news (when not talking weather).” — News24