SA dismisses concerns over non-attendance of some heads of state at G20 Leaders’ Summit

South Africa has dismissed concerns about the non-attendance of a handful of G20 leaders when the all-important leaders’ summit rolls around this week.

South Africa will host heads of state from the G20 bloc and delegates from guest countries on Saturday and Sunday, as the final lap of South Africa’s year-long G20 presidency.

Policy discussions on pressing global issues have been overshadowed by the USA's boycott of the gathering over President Donald Trump’s false claims of a white genocide in the country.

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Government hosted a state of readiness briefing at Nasrec in the south of Johannesburg on Monday.
 
South Africa has shrugged off the US tantrum, assuring global leaders the show will go on even without a delegation from Washington.

International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola: "They’re not attending, you can call it whatever – others will call it a boycott, others will call it non-attendance - but the reality is that they are not attending but we’ve focused on the job, we’ve done our job."

Lamola said that four other heads of state will also give the summit a skip but their countries will still be represented at the foreign ministers' level.

This includes China, Mexico, Argentina and Russia.

"We don’t see this as a snub or the undermining of Africa."

With sufficient consensus, the member states present would be able to agree on a declaration.