Macron's invitation to attend South Africa's BRICS Summit not granted
South Africa's media agencies report that the country's authorities have rejected a French request to send an invitation to President Emmanuel Macron to attend the upcoming summit of the BRICS economic group.
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French President Emmanuel Macron (right) and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa in Paris on June 23, 2023 (AFP)
According to a South African news outlet, French President Emmanuel Macron was not issued an invitation to attend the activities of the next BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) meeting.
The heads of 70 nations received invites to the unification meeting from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also the chairman of the BRICS, but neither the French President nor the United States or the United Kingdom leaders were included, according to the journal.
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From August 22 to 24, the BRICS summit will take place in the Johannesburg Sandton International Conference Center. The Business Forum's opening will mark the start of it.
The BRICS summit's central part will take place on August 23, and Ramaphosa will preside over a gathering of the association's leaders. A portion of the summit will also be held in a closed-door setting.
On August 24, the presidents of the BRICS nations will meet with heads of state and government who have been invited through collaboration with BRICS the following day, and there will also be a general assembly.
Eleven leaders from the Global South, representing regional organizations like the Group of 77 (G77), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf (GCC), were also invited to the events along with the heads of state and government of Africa.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in every meeting of the BRICS leaders virtually.
This is the third consecutive year that South Africa has held the BRICS presidency. The BRICS chairship will be held by Russia starting in 2024.
According to officials at the Elysee Palace, a French daily said in June that Macron had requested an invitation to the upcoming BRICS conference from Ramaphosa.
One source said South Africa did not indicate if it was willing to permit other world leaders besides member states to attend the occasion.
Later, the President expressed interest in traveling to Johannesburg as an observer in August to attend the conference of the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, according to Macron's top diplomat Catherine Colonna.
