It is not yet clear why President Cyril Ramaphosa will not be participating in the Summit for Democracy that will be hosted by the President of the United States of America Joe Biden on Thursday.
According to a statement from the Summit, “President Biden will host the first of two Summits for Democracy, which will bring together leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector to set forth an affirmative agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle the greatest threats faced by democracies today through collective action.”
The SABC News team in New York has reliable learnt that the South African President will skip the virtual summit.
Other countries that will not be participating as they were not invited include China, Russia, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia.
Briefing the media in Pretoria this morning, Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele was not sure why the President won’t participate, saying he will have to find out, soon.
“You must know the difficulty that is behind our relationships now. We have to manage. We need a good relationship with the developed countries for known reasons. This country and its constitution is a champion of world peace and prosperity. So interacting with those countries remains a priority to us. So whether then the president is to participate or not, is a matter we need to follow up I am not in a position now to comment.”
Joe Biden to host a two-day virtual Summit for Democracy:
![John Nkengasong, director of the African Union's Centres for Disease Control, speaks at a news conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. [File image]](https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/SABC-News-CDC-John-Nkengasong-Reuters.jpg){kind=small}
