Ramaphosa skips CHOGM amid frosty relations with Kigali
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Loading... - Bingwen Zhang
- 21 Jun 2022
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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has denied frosty relations between Pretoria and Kigali is the reason he will not be attending this week’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Rwanda.
Mr Ramaphosa will, however, take part in Thursday’s BRICS Leaders’ Summit to be hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The 2022 CHOGM is scheduled for June 24 and 25 in Kigali, preceded by a pre-meeting between June 20 and 23.
Prince Charles will attend CHOGM on behalf of Queen Elizabeth while UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will also be present.
Mr Ramaphosa’s itinerary includes domestic engagements and the 14th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit.
He will join Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Mr Xi hosts them.
“Later this week, I will join the leaders of China, Brazil, Russia and India at the 14th BRICS Leaders’ Summit, which will be hosted virtually by Chinese President Xi Jinping,” said President Ramaphosa on Monday.
Diplomatic tiff
Speculation has, however, been rife that Mr Ramaphosa will snub the Kigali CHOGM meeting on Friday and Saturday due to bad blood between South Africa and Rwanda.
But his office has dismissed the talk that he is avoiding setting foot in Kigali. “So the timing is not great for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting,” Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told Daily Maverick. “It’s not for any other reason but that.”
A diplomatic tiff between South Africa and Rwanda has existed for over a decade, with Kigali accusing Pretoria of harbouring Rwandan dissidents opposed to President Paul Kagame’s rule. Read More...
