President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that the G20 Leaders’ Summit will proceed as planned, despite the absence of representation from the United States (US) government.
The President was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the CEO-City Cleanup Partnership Programme held in Kliptown, Johannesburg, on Friday morning.
Recently, US President Donald Trump announced that neither he nor anyone representing that country would attend the global intergovernmental forum to be held in Johannesburg next week.
“[USA] President Trump has decided not to come and he’s pulled out all the US representatives. But we have said that boycott politics never work. If you boycott an event or a process, you... [lose] because the show will go on.
“The summit will go on. We are not going to stop because they are not here. We will continue and we will take fundamental decisions on matters that affect the people of the world,” President Ramaphosa said.
He noted that the G20 represents “up to 80% of the global economy” and that nearly 40 other Heads of State and Government, as well as heads of global organisations, will be at the Summit.
The President added that while South Africa would not want to handover the G20 Presidency gavel to “an empty chair” – the USA will be the next G20 President – there will be a symbolic handover.
“We will probably symbolically hand over to that empty chair and then talk to President Trump and say: even though you are not here, I am now handing over to you the reins of being President of the G20,” he said.
The President emphasised that despite the boycott, the USA remains an “important market” for South Africa.
“We want to engage more with their businesses. Government facilitates the engagement at trade and economic level so we want to continue trading with the businesses of the United States, and with the people of the United States. We export products to that country.
“The other issues are political and as normal, we will continue to dealing with the political issues. Sometimes you have to talk to people who may not be very friendly to you to advance the interests of your own people. Sometimes you’ve got to do what people may think is unpalatable but I’m prepared to do it to advance the interests of South Africans,” he said.
On news that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s will not attend the Summit, President Ramaphosa said this is due to scheduling challenges.
“[It is] because of prior commitments... but the Prime Minister [Li Qiang]... will be here.
“President Xi Jinping has been to South Africa six times and that continues to show his commitment to South Africa, and I have great understanding for his busy schedule in China,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
