Lamola confirmed that the US communicated its inability to attend the gathering, citing other international obligations.

“The US has indeed sent us an apology, stating that their Sherpa is attending the NATO summit,” Lamola told journalists on the sidelines of the meeting. “We take that as an official apology.”

He stressed that SA is not worried about the absence and remains confident in the effectiveness of the talks.

“We are not concerned. We think the G20 can function effectively with the member states who are present,” Lamola added. “They have provided an apology, we take it at face value, and we believe we will come out with very progressive and ambitious outcomes from this meeting.”

--ChannelAfrica--