Ramaphosa doesn't expect SA's genocide case against Israel to impact on relations with G20 nations

CAPE TOWN - President Cyril Ramaphosa said he doesn't expect South Africa's genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to impact on its relations with G20 nations when it hosts the bloc next year. 

He said that South Africa's stance on the Palestinian matter was well-known internationally.

Ramaphosa on Tuesday officially launched South Africa's presidency of the G20. 

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He said that geopolitical instability, conflict and war were adding hardship to already depressed economies where poverty, hunger and unemployment were rife. 

President Ramaphosa said that South Africa's position on wars around the world had been well established. 

South Africa, he said, worked from a basis of neutrality to advocate for peace through institutions like the United Nations and the African Union. 

"We are a peace-loving country but also have taken up the role of being a peacemaker where we can. In various conflicts, we have been able to talk to both sides, much as it has tended to upset others."

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Ramaphosa said that he did not expect mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreements like AGOA to be impacted by geopolitics under Donald Trump's presidency of the United States.

"I hardly think one would want to cut one's nose to spite one's face."

An ardent supporter of Israel in its war against the occupied territory of Gaza, the US will take over the G20 presidency from South Africa in 2026.