US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that South Africa would be excluded from the 2026 G20, scheduled for Miami. He also suspended all American aid and subsidies to the country. According to him, the South African government refused to hand over the presidency of the G20 to an American representative after the Johannesburg summit, in which the United States did not participate.
Trump added that the move followed allegations of persecution and dispossession of white Afrikaner farmers in South Africa. These accusations are widely contested by the South African government and international observers.
Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African president, called Trump's comments "regrettable" and based on "false information". He specified that the instruments of the G20 presidency had been handed over to an American official at the South African Ministry of International Relations, despite the absence of American representatives. Ramaphosa insisted: South Africa will continue to actively participate in the G20 and uphold multilateralism.
The Johannesburg summit, the first G20 organized in Africa, was praised for its success. The United States refused to sign the final declaration, disagreeing on issues such as climate and development. Despite everything, several American companies and organizations had participated in the ancillary activities of the G20, such as the B20 or the G20 Social.
