(MENAFN) South Africa transferred G20 leadership to Washington in a deliberately muted ceremony at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) on Tuesday, following days of protocol disputes over American representation.

Zane Dangor, Sherpa of South Africa's G20 presidency and Dirco Director-General, told Newzroom Afrika on Monday that both nations had mutually decided against a prominent handover.

"The agreement is that we should do it low-key. It's not just a South African issue; the US also doesn't want a very big handover event. So, we will hand over at the level of a senior official from Dirco to the US chargé d'affaires," he stated.

The subdued transfer follows escalating diplomatic friction over Washington's proposed delegation to the G20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg.

IOL reported over the weekend that International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola had drawn a hard line: while America retained full summit access rights, its representative required sufficient rank to accept the presidency gavel from President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Pretoria had communicated that Washington could not dispatch its embassy chargé d'affaires as a substitute for President Donald Trump or another high-ranking official during the summit's ceremonial transition.

Explaining the government's position, Lamola emphasized America maintained freedom to send "anyone", contingent on appropriate seniority.

"We did not deny anyone access. The United States is a member of the G20 and if they want to be represented, they can still send anyone at the right level. It is the leaders' summit. The right level is the head of state, a special envoy appointed by the president of that country, or it could also be a minister," Lamola clarified.

He noted that while US embassy personnel, including the chargé d'affaires, could fully participate in summit activities, the chargé d'affaires lacked the protocol standing to receive the gavel from Ramaphosa.

"It's up to them, but the issue of the handover — the president of the Republic of South Africa will not be handing over to the US chargé d'affaires. We will hand over to the US in the Dirco offices, or anywhere they may want within the borders of the Republic of South Africa," he stated.

On Saturday, Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed Washington would send no representatives to the summit, characterizing the initial arrangement as "a breach of protocol".

"You cannot have a head of state handing over the presidency and leadership of such an important forum for macro-economic and related issues being handed over to a junior embassy official," Magwenya declared.

A chargé d'affaires represents the lowest-tier chief of mission, deployed when no ambassador occupies the post. Such diplomats do not present credentials to host heads of state and are typically regarded as provisional or junior-level envoys.

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