Pretoria: The Presidency says it remains committed to building a relationship with the United States of America (USA), despite the “regrettable” recent expulsion of SA Ambassador to the US, Embrahim Rasool. Rasool was expelled after US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, took to social media, X, to declare that Rasool was not welcome in the US.
According to South African Government News Agency, Rubio’s post on social media stated, ‘South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country. We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered persona non grata’ [person not welcome] (sic).
In a statement on Saturday, The Presidency noted the regrettable expulsion of Rasool and urged all relevant and impacted stakeholders to maintain the established diplomatic decorum in their engagement with the matter. ‘South Africa remains committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the United States of America,’ the President said.