South African President Sends Invitations to 67 Global Leaders BRICS Countries Global
According to a report by Effe on August 7th, South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Nalandi Pandor, stated on August 7th that South Africa has invited 67 leaders from "global southern" countries to attend the upcoming BRICS summit from August 22nd to 24th.
According to the report, Pandor said at an online press conference on the preparations for the summit, "President Ramaphosa, with the unanimous support of BRICS leaders, has invited 67 leaders from Africa and even 'global southern' countries."
She also said, "The invited leaders come from various continents and regions of the 'global southern' world. So far, at least 34 have confirmed their attendance."
Nalandy Pandor attended a press conference in Cape Town on June 2nd.
According to Pandor, Ramaphosa also extended invitations to 20 "political figures", including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mohammed.
The report also stated that leaders of Brazil, India, China, and South Africa will attend the summit, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will also attend.
![South African President Sends Invitations to 67 Global Leaders BRICS Countries Global](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/8dd2600ed4d9fb691d7ed148c78360b7.jpg)
However, Pandor confirmed that French President Macron was not invited, despite expressing interest in attending the BRICS summit in June.
Although the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Putin on suspicion of committing war crimes in Ukraine, South Africa confirmed in March that it would invite Putin to attend a summit. Subsequently, South Africa also became a focus of public opinion as a result.
But Ramaphosa announced in July that Putin will not go to South Africa, but will attend the summit online.
South Africa claims to be neutral to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and calls for the settlement of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
The report states that South Africa's adoption of this position is not only related to Moscow's strategic, political, and economic role in African countries, but also because Russia supported anti colonial and liberation movements as well as the struggle against apartheid in the 20th century.