Steenhuisen: US snubbing G20 Leaders' Summit 'was poor form'

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader and agriculture minister, John Steenhuisen, says it’s unbefitting of incoming hosts, the United States, to snub the G20 Leaders' Summit this weekend.
 
He said that the world superpower had not done itself any favours by boycotting most of this year’s meetings and isolating itself from the global community.

Steenhuisen said he agreed with President Cyril Ramaphosa that it would not be proper for the US to send an embassy delegation to receive the presidency.

Steenhuisen said given that South Africa would form part of the troika of G20 hosts next year, it would have been better for the United States to have had a delegation participating in this year’s G20 programme.

He said it’s to be expected that G20 countries will not always agree on all matters. 

"Particularly when you are the incoming host country, I think that was poor form. I think no matter what you think about the G20 and what you think about South Africa, the institution is important." 

Steenhuisen points out that as this year’s G20 host, South Africa would still have an important role to play at next year’s G20. 

"I think it’s very important that we go there and take what we’ve asserted and what we’ve achieved in this G20 and make sure it finds expression in that G20."

He said that although the absence of the US in discussions on agriculture had been challenging, he believed that this year’s meetings still produced a good outcome.