Johannesburg, March 15 (IANS) The Presidency of South Africa has expressed regret over the expulsion of South African Ambassador to the United States Ebrahim Rasool.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by the presidency, it has noted the regrettable expulsion of the South African ambassador and urged all relevant and impacted stakeholders to maintain the established diplomatic decorum in their engagement with the matter.
“South Africa remains committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the United States,” said the presidency.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Rasool “persona non grata” on the social media platform X on Friday, following an earlier address by the South African ambassador in which he criticized US President Donald Trump.
In the address, Rasool accused Trump of “leading a global white supremacist movement” and breaking down established norms and practices when it comes to diplomacy, Xinhua news agency reported.
Trump signed an executive order in February to cut financial assistance to South Africa, citing disapproval of its land policy and accusing the country of “seizing ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property.” The move also came amid South Africa’s genocide case against Washington’s ally, Israel, at the International Court of Justice.
On March 10, South Africa’s Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) had expressed regret over the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).
In a statement released on Monday, the PCC voiced “disappointment” over the US decision to exit the International Partners Group (IPG) and the Board of the Loss and Damage Fund, which were established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at COP27.
The commission noted that the US withdrawal from the JETP with South Africa had reduced international Just Energy Transition pledges from 13.8 billion US dollars to 12.8 billion dollars.
“South Africa regards the UNFCCC and its mechanisms as central to tackling climate change and the only credible platform which brings together all countries at the highest level to discuss and collaborate on climate action and in keeping multilateralism alive,” said Dorah Modise, PCC Executive Director.
Modise reaffirmed the government’s commitment to mobilizing both global and domestic action on climate change and urged development partners to stay the course.
“South Africa remains steadfast in its commitment to achieving a just and equitable energy transition and has made significant strides on this journey, and we call upon all other IPG partners to remain committed to supporting South Africa’s decarbonization efforts,” Modise said.
Modise emphasised that building resilience in climate-vulnerable urban areas and integrating mitigation strategies with economic development remain top priorities for the PCC this year.
US President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order reprioritizing US climate policy, revoking the International Climate Finance Plan issued by the previous administration, including commitments related to the JETP.
–IANS
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