South Africa still does not have an ambassador in the U.S.
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, has reacted to a decision by United States (US) President Donald Trump not to attend the G20 leaders’ summit in South Africa.
On Thursday, Trump told reporters at a White House media briefing that he will not be attending the summit.
“I will not be going this year. It is in South Africa. JD Vance will be going, the vice-president. He looks forward to it, but I will not be going,” he said.
Trump’s decision comes as no surprise since Pretoria and Washington are trying to reset relations.
Speaking to SABC News in Mpumalanga on Saturday, Lamola welcomed Trump’s decision.
“We welcome the fact that he has assigned or appointed his deputy president, JD Vance, to be the one who attends the G20 in South Africa.
“We welcome this development. The US can assign anyone that President Trump deems necessary. We look forward to interacting with him on the platforms of the G20,” he said.
The reasons behind Trump’s decision
Lamola said he does not want to speculate on the reasons for Trump’s decision not to come to South Africa.
“That is for him to state. For us, we welcome that JD Vance has been assigned, but we also know that he is reluctant to travel long distances.
“But I believe the White House can share reasons for Trump’s decision.”
Lamola said he believes the G20 will produce its ambitious outcomes despite Trump’s absence.
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Another blow to Pretoria
South Africa will also hand over the G20 presidency to the US at the conclusion of the leaders’ summit.
The South African government was looking forward to hosting Trump at the G20 leaders’ summit.
Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, earlier this year confirmed that Trump would be given adequate security upon his arrival.
However, it appears that relations between the Ramaphosa administration and the Trump administration are not as great as Pretoria wants them to be.
Trump has previously accused South Africa of abusing minority groups, especially Afrikaner farmers.
His government has imposed 30% tariffs on South African exports to the U.S.
Trump had also cut essential funding for HIV-AIDS programmes in South Africa.
There is also a pending bill that could lead to sanctions against some ANC leaders.
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