US to send deputy Ambassador to attend G20 handover: White House
The US has sought to clarify its position on whether it has had a change of mind about attending the G20 Summit in Johannesburg.
The White House has released a short statement on X, saying its Chargé d’Affaires in Pretoria will attend the Declaration handover ceremony as a formality.
However, the United States says that it will not be joining the G20 discussions.
A White House official has gone to X to label any reports that the US is attending the Summit as “fake news”.
President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier welcomed what he said appeared to be renewed interest from the US to participate in some form.
World leaders have started arriving in South Africa. Among the early arrivals are Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
India has confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend.
International Relations analyst, Oscar van Heerden has described the arrival of some of the world leaders in South Africa as a significant moment for Africa.
This year’s G20 Summit is being held for the first time in an African nation. It will focus on helping developing economies adapt to the climate crisis, transition to clean energy and cut excessive debt.
Van Heerden says there is likely to be a Declaration at the end of the summit.
“They (G20 Leaders) know that the Group of 20 is about the 20 largest economies in the world, but they are keen and they are sensitive enough to know that they cannot operate in a world without Africa, without the Third World, and certainly without the Global South. And I think because everyone has been on the receiving end of the bully called Trump, that they are going to rally behind South Africa. Not that they are anti-Trump or anti-the US, but they are saying that we are no longer going to be bullied and we need to recognise that issues of sustainability, equality are actually important in the multilateral global system.”