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New York, United States—South Africa’s permanent representative to the United Nations was the host of a Japanese tea ceremony to which 10 diplomats came.
H.E. Mr. Kingsley Mamabolo, the permanent representative, welcomed the dignitaries to the event, which was held at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of South Africa on December 3, 2014.
The permanent representatives to the United Nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gambia, Poland, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Vietnam attended the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, as did the deputy permanent representatives of New Zealand and Angola, the counsellor of Lesotho on behalf of the permanent representative, the fifth committee expert of Poland and the former permanent representative of El Salvador.
In 2015 South Africa was in line to chair the Group of 77, a coalition of developing nations at the United Nations. H.E. Mr. Mamabolo appointed his social secretary to cooperate with the tea ceremony committee. As a result, the tea ceremony was well organized, with the participants reporting how much they enjoyed the tea rituals and the music. Several of the participants said they would like to host the next tea ceremony to continue making a culture of peace.