International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
South Africa will officially hand over the G20 presidency to the United States anytime from Monday, but at an “appropriate” and “equivalent” level, International Relations And Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola said.
“We have communicated to the US embassy that South Africa welcomes the fact that the US now wants us to hand over to the US the leadership of the G20,” Lamola told journalists on day one of the G20 leaders summit boycotted by US President Donald Trump, whose administration has clashed with Pretoria this year over policy differencies.
“.… It was very late, and also they stated that they will be chargé d’affaires [junior officials] US here in South Africa.”
Lamola spoke following the overwhelming acceptance of the summit declaration by the over 42 nations presented by their leaders, with the exception of Argentina whose president Javier Milei also skipped the forum in line with Trump, although he sent his foreign minister Pablo Quirno instead.
The declaration was accepted a day earlier than expected following discussions in the week that preceded the summit about its contents.
Lamola said South Africaa did not wish to further strain relations with Washington, but believed that given that the G20 summit is a gathering of high level leaders and officials, the handover should be conducted between two officials of the same level, not by Ramaphosa to a junior US official as Washington had demanded.
“The handover must happen at the head of state level, or at least the minister who is properly disaggregated by the President of the United States of America,” Lamola said.
“So, now that they have assigned a chargé d’affaires. We have said Dirco [department of international relations and cooperation] has an equivalent official of the chargé d’affaires, hence we welcome that they will know the handover. We will do it at Dirco offices any time from Monday, and arrangements will be made on the appropriate date where they can come. We do the handover of everything.”
The minister said that the adoption of the declaration was a positive step towards ensuring equal communities and sustainable economies.
The four overarching mandates include strengthening disaster resilience and response, ensuring debt sustainability for low income countries, mobilising finance for a just energy transition and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
“The adoption of the leaders’ declaration today by world leaders is a step toward multilateralism and toward building a bridge between the Global North and the Global South,” said Lamola.
“The declaration includes progressive resolutions on climate change, financing, and a framework for critical minerals and value addition at source. This will boost the global South, particularly the African continent.”
He said South Africa’s deal with the European Union on the beneficiation of critical minerals was also a nod to how protecting the industry would support the continent’s valuable commodities.
“South Africa also signed an agreement with the European Union where value addition was steered in the whole of that agreement that beneficiation must happen here in South Africa in terms of the critical minerals,” Lamola said.
“But the declaration now takes it further for the whole African continent, and the compact with Africa that we have just now concluded makes this implementation practically possible.”