South Africa Transfers G20 Leadership to US
On Monday, Zane Dangor, Sherpa of South Africa’s G20 presidency and Dirco Director-General, told a news agency that both nations had mutually agreed to keep the handover modest.
”The agreement is that we should do it low-key. It’s not just a South African issue; the US also doesn’t want a very big handover event. So, we will hand over at the level of a senior official from Dirco to the US chargé d’affaires,” he explained.
The understated handover follows several days of diplomatic friction regarding the seniority of the US representative at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg.
Over the weekend, IOL reported that International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola emphasized that while the US had the right to participate in the summit, its envoy needed to have sufficient rank to receive the presidency gavel from President Cyril Ramaphosa.
South Africa had made it clear that Washington could not appoint its embassy chargé d’affaires as a stand-in for President Donald Trump or another high-ranking official during the handover at the summit.
Clarifying the government’s position, Lamola stated that the US could send “anyone”, as long as the person held senior status.
”We did not deny anyone access. The United States is a member of the G20 and if they want to be represented, they can still send anyone at the right level. It is the leaders’ summit. The right level is the head of state, a special envoy appointed by the president of that country, or it could also be a minister,” Lamola remarked.
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