President Cyril Ramaphosa and King Mswati III of the Kingdom of eSwatini. File Picture: Jairus Mmutle/GCIS
The Kingdom of eSwatini confirmed that King Mswati III is not attending the 15th BRICS Summit which began in Sandton, Johannesburg, today.
Although eSwatini is not a member of BRICS, as one of the immediate neighbours, one would have expected the king to attend.
eSwatini government spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo confirmed to “The Star” this afternoon that nothing had been communicated to the government.
“No one informed us about any invitation to the BRICS Summit. However, eSwatini is not a member of the bloc,” said Nxumalo.
South Africa’s International Relations and Co-operation Department (Dirco) spokesperson, Clayson Monyela, did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Earlier this month, “The Star” asked Monyela if eSwatini had been invited to be part of the summit as a guest.
“Who says they (eSwatini) have been left out?” Monyela responded.
The members of BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – make up a quarter of the global economy, they account for a fifth of global trade and are home to more than 40% of the world's population.
By mutual agreement, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the summit. The Russian Federation will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
More than 20 countries have shown interest in joining the bloc.
South Africa became an official member of BRICS in 2010 under former president Jacob Zuma, after being formally brought in by China and accepted by the other member countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has said he is confident that the summit will be a success and called on the nation to extend hospitality to the many delegates from Africa and elsewhere in the world.