South African (SA) President Cyril Ramaphosa says SA will convene a high-level meeting with African heads of state this Friday, just a day before the G20 Leaders’ Summit, to ensure the continent presents a united front at the global gathering.
Addressing Chief Executive Officer’s in Sandton, north of Johannesburg, during a G20 Outreach Programme dinner, Ramaphosa highlighted that the African Union, now a full member of the G20 following SA’s successful campaign, will join the discussions.
He said the African Union’s (AU) formal inclusion marks a major milestone in securing recognised continental representation alongside global blocs like the European Union (EU).
“On Friday, I will be meeting with the African heads of state and government, who we have invited to be part of the G20 Leaders’ Summit. We will also have the chairperson of the AU, as well as the AU Commission, who, as we know, the AU is now a member of the G20. As a result of our campaign that SA should not be the only country or only representative of the continent in the G20 process. And we are very pleased that we won that debate. There was a lot of opposition, but we finally won the debate that our continent must formally be represented, like the EU is formally represented in the G20,” says Ramaphosa.
–ChannelAfrica–
