Central SA
G20 roadshow: 20 plus heads of commissions visit Bloemfontein─── ZENANDE MPAME 15:07 Thu, 07 Aug 2025
The Free State will host the first chapter of the G20 Cultural Diplomacy Roadshow in Bloemfontein on Thursday (7/8) and Friday (8/8).
This initiative is designed to showcase the power of culture in fostering international exchanges between partners. It serves as a platform to highlight the province’s rich cultural heritage, deepen international cooperation, and advance the G20’s vision of inclusivity and collaboration.
More than 20 heads of commissions are in the city, including China, Mali, Lesotho, Nigeria, and Bangladesh, to take part in the tours around the city and to foster international relationships with the premier and her executive council.
The roadshow positions the Free State as a global cultural destination while advancing the G20 Presidency’s theme of “Solidarity, Equality & Sustainability” and the sub-theme “Advancing Cultural Diplomacy to Build Sustainable Communities”.
“We are here to do our outreach programme in the Free State, bearing in mind that we are the presidency of the G20, as it comes to South Africa, since we’ve taken over the baton from Brazil last year,” said deputy minister of international relations and cooperation, Anna Thandi Moraka.
“We are a very busy country this year because of this multilateral forum, which is the G20, which we need to deliver without fail. “Throughout our presidency as the G20, we, as the department of international relations and cooperation, felt that this G20 presidency must be about the people of South Africa.
“Hence, you see us going all over the country, taking our progressive heads of missions all over the country along with us. “We are doing this so that we can strengthen our bilateral relationship with these progressive countries that are supporting us,” she said.
The two-day visit entails a tour of heritage sites in the city, a roundtable engagement where the MEC of Destea will be presenting on the financial situation, and the social and growth issues of the province.
“Today, we have launched the G20, and we will be taking the delegation around to showcase what Free State has, particularly to tourism, arts, and culture,” said Free State Destea MEC Ketso Makume.
“The most important thing is to enter into engagements to try and have future relations, so we don’t see this as only a pleasure, but as a network session as well. The visitors are here as heads of state, but we want them to come back as tourists and investors in the future.”
