PRETORIA — President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned as an “insult” US President Donald Trump’s claim that he would bar South Africa from attending next year’s G20 summit, which is due to be held on American soil.
In a sharply worded statement on Thursday, the South African presidency said the country remains a full, active and constructive member of the G20 and would continue to participate in all its activities as of right.
“South Africa is a member of the G20 and does not attend on anyone’s invitation,” the statement stressed, underscoring that membership cannot be revoked at the whim of a single country.
The row follows a tense summit in South Africa last weekend — the first G20 gathering ever hosted on African soil — which Washington pointedly boycotted despite being the incoming G20 president.
Diplomatic friction was on open display around the handover of the rotating presidency. The US reportedly suggested that South Africa pass the G20 chair to an American representative at the US embassy. Pretoria refused, and the ceremony instead took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in line with standard diplomatic protocol.
The summit’s final declaration, which devoted unusual weight to issues central to developing economies — including debt relief, climate finance and reform of global institutions — went unsigned by Washington. The White House later voiced opposition to key parts of the document, particularly its climate change provisions and broader framing of developing-country priorities.
South Africa has increasingly found itself in Trump’s crosshairs since his return to office at the start of the year. His administration has cast Pretoria as “anti-American” over its foreign policy positions and partnerships, and the president has repeatedly attacked South Africa’s post-apartheid transformation policies aimed at empowering the Black majority.
For Pretoria, Trump’s latest comments are seen as part of a broader attempt to delegitimise both its domestic agenda and its growing diplomatic role in the Global South.
Despite the war of words, officials in Pretoria insist South Africa will continue to exercise its rights and responsibilities within the G20 — and will not allow bilateral tensions with Washington to derail its multilateral commitments.
