Dirco says it respects USA's decision to expel Ebrahim Rasool

JOHANNESBURG - The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) says it respects the United States decision to expel Ebrahim Rasool.

On Saturday, the US government issued a 72-hour notice for the South African ambassador to vacate the country (America).

This follows an announcement from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, declaring Rasool's status as "Persona non grata" on the social media platform x.

Dirco spokesperson Crispin Phiri says South Africa will maintain its diplomatic relations with the US  and will continue engaging the White House administration.

 “This development really comes at a time where the discussions were really at an advanced stage with the White House administration, and that's what makes it most regrettable, is that we really believed that we were really at an advanced stage, and this really comes to make things a little bit more difficult, but nonetheless we do believe that we still have the ability to pursue this relationship and engage with our counterparts in the US. To normalize relations as much as possible.”