US-South African relations deteriorating for long: Former Polish Ambassador on Trump's G20 ban

Warsaw [Poland], November 28 (ANI): Adam Burakowski, Associate Professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences and Former Ambassador of Poland to India and South Africa, said that the relations between South Africa and the United States (US) have been deteriorating for a long time and were not initiated during Donald Trump's tenure.
Speaking to ANI, Burakowski argued that Trump merely continued on the line of the previous administration, but with additional points given his accusations of South Africa "disrespecting human rights" of the white minority population residing there.
"The US-South African relations have been deteriorating for a long time. It didn't just start during Trump's term. When he became President, he continued the previous administration's line but added some very important points. First is the accusation of Donald Trump against South Africa of not respecting the human rights of the white minority population in South Africa, the associate professor said.
He held Billionaire Elon Musk responsible for Trump's "harsh" statement against South Africa's current government. Musk hails from South Africa and has been critical of the regime there.
One South African person has played an important role in the Donald Trump administration. Elon Musk. He was born in South Africa, and he is interested in South African politics. He's very critical of South Africa's current government, and he influenced Donald Trump to make even more severe statements about this relationship," Burakowski said.
He further argued that India continues to play a key role in the Group of 20, where it has presented itself as a "dynamic country" during its G20 presidency.
Burakowski said that India's proposal for the African Union to be a permanent member of the G20 was accepted in 2023, which allowed the latter full rights. He added that India's initiative reflected its desire to be the voice of the global south in the G20.
"India continues to play a very important role in the G20. We should remember that when India held the G20 presidency, it was a major event. India presented itself to the world as a very dynamic country. India proposed that the African Union be a permanent member of the G20, a proposal that was finally accepted. So in the G20 summit in Johannesburg, we had the African Union as a full member with full rights. This was the initiative of India because India wants to play the role of the voice of the global south in the G20," the Professor said.
During this Johannesburg summit of G20, we saw that the PM Narendra Modi was very active, meeting many people, and also meeting with the Indian community in South Africa and playing one of the major roles in this whole summit," he added. (ANI)