South Africa has criticised U.S. President Donald Trump’s intention to block the country from attending the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Miami, Florida, in 2026.
Trump said earlier that he will not invite South Africa to attend next year’s G20 summit and will halt all U.S. aid to the country.
In a statement, the G20’s current South African Presidency said it was “regrettable” that in spite of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s efforts to reset relations with Washington, Trump continued to take punitive measures against Pretoria, “based on misinformation and distortions about our country.”
“President Cyril Ramaphosa has noted the regrettable statement by President Donald Trump on South Africa’s participation in the 2026 G20 meetings,” said the statement.
It stressed that South Africa will remain a full, active and constructive member of the G20, “and called on G20 members to reaffirm their commitment to multilateralism and consensus-based decision-making, with all members participating on an equal footing.”
“South Africa is a sovereign constitutional democratic country and does not appreciate insults from another country about its worth in participating in global platforms.
South Africa will never insult another country or its standing in the community of nations,” it added.
As the United States was not present at this year’s summit, instruments of the G20 presidency were duly handed over to a U.S. embassy official at the Headquarters of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, the statement said.
The United States boycotted this year’s summit by sending no U.S. officials.
In response, Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson for President Ramaphosa, said the South African president would not hand over the G20 presidency to a junior U.S. embassy official.
“It’s a breach of protocol that is not going to be accommodated or allowed in this instance. It is a position of principle.”
According to the South African Broadcasting Corporation, the handover was officially completed on Tuesday with the consent of both sides in a low-key manner. (Xinhua/NAN)
