Macron Not Invited to BRICS Summit – South African Foreign Minister

 South African President Cyril Ramaphosa invited a total of 67 country leaders and 20 representatives of organizations to meeting within the BRICS summit framework, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said on Monday.French President Emmanuel Macron has not been invited to the BRICS summit in South Africa on August 22-24, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said on Monday.”Emmanuel Macron – No invitation issued in that regard,” the minister said in a statement.

in June, a French newspaper, citing sources in the Elysee palace, reported that Macron had asked South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for an invitation to the upcoming BRICS summit.

According to a source familiar with the matter, South Africa did not say whether it was prepared to allow other international leaders to attend the event.Later, Macron’s top diplomat, Catherine Colonna, confirmed that the president was interested in coming to Johannesburg as an observer in August to attend the meeting of Brazilian, Russian, Indian, Chinese and South African leaders, the so-called BRICS group of major emerging economies.Macron’s proposal was met with a mixed reaction from BRICS, with South African International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor calling the idea a departure from the practice of doing things.

She said President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current BRICS chair, would be the one making the decision. Russia argued that Macron’s participation would be “inappropriate,” given Paris’ hostile policy toward Moscow.

Meanwhile, the South African president has invited “invited (with consensus support from his fellow BRICS Leaders) sixty-seven (67) Leaders from Africa and the global South to attend the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogues. The Leaders cover all the continents and regions of the global South,” the country’s Foreign Minister said.Another 20 representatives of international organizations were also invited, the minister said.

“The President has also invited twenty (20) dignitaries that include the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, the President of the New Development Bank, the Chairs and Executive Heads of African Regional Economic Communities, African financial institutions, and the Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat and CEO of the African Union Development Agency,” the statement said.Currently 34 countries confirmed their participation, the minister added.