Trump cannot snub South Africa from the G20 – Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa has pushed back against US President Donald Trump’s statement that South Africa will not be invited to the 2026 G20 summit in Florida.

Ramaphosa said that the country is a member “in its own name and right” and does not attend at the discretion of any single nation.

In a statement on 27 November, Ramaphosa called Trump’s remarks “regrettable” and rejected any suggestion that South Africa’s membership was in doubt. 

He stated that the 2025 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, which the United States chose not to attend, was praised by participating heads of state and resulted in a declaration reaffirming multilateral cooperation.

The Group of 20 leaders adopted a declaration on Saturday that addressed the climate crisis and other global challenges, despite US objections and boycotts.

This prompted the White House to accuse South Africa of weaponising its leadership of the group this year.

Trump, in a social-media post, claimed that South Africa would not receive an invitation to the 2026 summit due to what he described as human rights abuses and an alleged breach of protocol over the handover of G20 presidency instruments. 

“At my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20, which will be hosted in the Great City of Miami, Florida next year,” said Trump.

Ramaphosa stated that Trump continues to adopt punitive positions “based on misinformation and distortions” regarding South Africa.

Ramaphosa responded that, as the United States did not send a senior delegation to the Johannesburg summit, the standard G20 presidency instruments were instead handed to a US Embassy official at South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

“As one of the founding members of the G20, South Africa has always valued the spirit of consensus, collaboration and partnership that defines the G20,” the statement read.

He added that the United States “elected not to attend” the summit “out of its own volition.”

Ramaphosa’s office did not directly engage with Trump’s claims but stated that South Africa “does not appreciate insults from another country about its membership and worthiness.”

It emphasised that its participation in global platforms rests on the principle of sovereign equality.

The Presidency also noted that while the US government skipped the summit, American businesses and civil-society groups “participated in large numbers” in G20 events such as the B20 and G20 Social.