President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday said while he knew that SA’s voice was needed and expected at the G20 summit, he could not attend due to the local government elections campaign.
“This time the minister will carry SA’s flag,” he said.
International relations and co-operation minister Naledi Pandor is leading the SA delegation at the G20 in Rome this weekend.
According to a statement from her department, Pandor met her US counterpart, secretary of state Antony Blinken, on the margins of the summit. She is expected to engage in a number of other bilateral meetings.
Speaking, in his capacity as head of state on the sidelines of an election rally in Ivory Park, Ramaphosa said: “I was due to go to the G20 because as you know SA is a member of the G20, but the election campaign and the elections themselves prevented me from going.
“I am glad that our minister of international relations is at the G20 and I keep in close contact with her almost two to three hourly about the discussions there.”
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