Pretoria - President Cyril Ramaphosa was on Tuesday scheduled to receive letters of credence from ambassadors and high commissioners-designate who have been nominated by their governments to serve in diplomatic missions based in South Africa.
Acting Presidency spokesperson Tyrone Seale said the credentials ceremony on Tuesday would be held at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria where Ramaphosa would receive the letters from nominated heads of mission from 15 countries.
Senior diplomats from the following countries will serve at missions in South Africa with the aim of advancing diplomatic relations:
Republic of Bulgaria
Oriental Republic of Uruguay
Republic of Seychelles
Republic of Burundi
Republic of Turkey
Republic of Sierra Leone
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Republic of Maldives
Dominican Republic
Canada
Federal Republic of Germany
Republic of Singapore
Republic of Djibouti
Republic of Cyprus
In November last year, Ramaphosa received letters of credence from 17 incoming ambassadors and high commissioners-designate who were taking the reins at diplomatic missions in South Africa.
At the auspicious event, Ramaphosa also heard the diplomats’ aspirations for stronger ties between their countries and South Africa.
Last year, due to the raging Covid-19 pandemic, Ramaphosa had not had the opportunity to personally meet the top diplomats who were assigned to South Africa that year, a landmark event on the diplomatic calendar.
At that event, the Chinese Ambassador to South Africa, Chen Xiaodong, accompanied by his wife Zhang Bin, applauded Pretoria’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, expressed confidence in the Pretoria government and conveyed a message of support from Chinese President Xi Jinping to Ramaphosa.
China has been South Africa’s largest trading partner for over consecutive 11 years, and South Africa has been China’s largest trading partner in Africa for more than a decade.
IOL