IN WHAT appeared to be in response to South Africa’s fractured relations with the US, President Cyril Ramaphosa will send a delegation of government and other leaders to various capitals on the continent and across the world.

In his State of the Nation Address Thursday night, Ramaphosa said the government that he is leading wanted a nation that was at peace with the world.

These remarks come as South Africa was under increasing pressure from the US, with its President Donald Trump threatening to cut funding to this country over claims that its land and property laws were aimed at confiscating land from a certain class of people. South Africa has responded by dismissing Trump’s remarks as misinformation.

“The work we do and what we stand for needs to be explained to many key players, especially to our trading partners and the many countries and leaders we interact with on the global stage.

“With a view to explaining the many positions that we have taken and in particular the objectives we wish to achieve during our Presidency of the G20, I have decided to send a delegation of government and other leaders to various capitals on our continent and across the world,” Ramaphosa said.

He said this delegation will interact with various key players on a variety of matters that affect South Africa’s interests.

The latest development in the stand-off between South Africa and the US was the announcement by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that he would not be participating in an upcoming meeting of G20 foreign ministers to be held in Joburg.

Ramaphosa said hosting the G20 presented an opportunity to place the needs of Africa and the rest of the Global South more firmly on the international development agenda.

“We continue through our international relations to advance the well-being of the South African people as we seek to advance the well-being of humanity.

“We will work to strengthen our trade relations around the world and to leverage our strong and diverse global alliances to make our economy more resilient. The key pillars of our foreign policy remain the promotion of human rights, peace and friendship and the strengthening of fair trade and investment ties with other countries. These are the principles that guide our Presidency of the G20 this year.”

Among the programs to be affected by the US’s defunding is the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)

“We are concerned about the potential impact of the decision by the United States government to suspend some of its funding for HIV and TB programmes in African countries for 90 days. This funding accounts for about 17 percent of our country’s HIV spend. We have been able to provide funding from our fiscus for our HIV and TB programmes over the years. We are looking at various interventions to address the immediate needs and ensure the continuity of essential services.”

Ramaphosa also appeared to pour cold water on mounting calls to withdraw South African troops taking part in a peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following the killing of 14 soldiers.

“The presence of South African peacekeepers in the eastern DRC is testament to our continued commitment to the peaceful resolution of one of the world’s most intractable conflicts, which has cost millions of lives and displaced millions of people.

“We call on all parties to embrace the current diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful resolution, including honouring the Luanda Process. We have always believed that the freedom we won – and the international solidarity from which we benefited – imposes a duty on us to support the struggles of those who continue to experience colonialism and oppression.”

Cape Times