Johannesburg (AFP) – South Africa denounced US President Donald Trump’s decision to bar it from the 2026 G20 summit, calling the move punitive and driven by distortions that erode global cooperation. The two countries are at odds over a range of domestic and foreign policies — a standoff that came to a head after Washington skipped the G20 summit in Johannesburg last week. Trump said South Africa would not be invited to next year’s meeting, which he plans to host at his own golf resort in Miami.
Pretoria fired back in a statement late Wednesday, saying South Africa was a G20 member in its own right and that its place in the bloc was decided by the other members. “South Africa is a sovereign constitutional democratic country and does not appreciate insults from another country about its membership and worth in participating in global platforms,” the presidency said, vowing to continue participating in all G20 meetings.
Trump had cited what he described as “horrific Human Right Abuses” endured by white farmers, and South Africa’s refusal to symbolically hand off the G20 presidency at the end of the Johannesburg summit to the United States. South Africa on Tuesday handed over the G20 presidency at a low-key foreign ministry event after refusing to do so at the summit to a US embassy representative, insisting Washington be represented “at the right level.”
Trump has singled out South Africa for harsh treatment on a number of issues since he returned to the White House in January, most notably on his false claims of a “white genocide” in the country. “It is regrettable that despite the efforts and numerous attempts by President (Cyril) Ramaphosa and his administration to reset the diplomatic relationship with the US, President Trump continues to apply punitive measures against South Africa based on misinformation and distortions about our country,” Pretoria said.
The two nations have also fallen out over issues including South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice, the UN’s top court. Trump has meanwhile slapped 30 percent tariffs on South Africa, the highest in sub-Saharan Africa. The G20 comprises 19 countries plus the European Union and the African Union, and accounts for 85 percent of the world’s GDP and two-thirds of its population.
© 2024 AFP
