US President Donald Trump has formally obtained the rotational G20 Chairmanship. He is now seeking to have South Africa removed from the equation of the international bloc of major economies. Neither Trump nor any diplomatic delegation representing his administration attended the 2025 G20 Summit in Johannesburg. Just hours after Pretoria passed the symbolic G20 Gavel to Washington during a subdued administrative handover on Wednesday, Trump announced that he would not be inviting either South African President Cyril Ramaphosa nor any delegation representing South Africa to the US for the bloc’s 2026 Miami Summit edition. No support has yet come from the leaders and leaderships of European, Asian and African economies represented in the bloc leaving Pretoria in a precarious situation.
Trump made the announcement from the Oval Office through a written statement that South Africa “will not receive an invitation”.
No show of solidarity has come from G20 members as yet, save for German ambassador to South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho Andreas Peschke posting on X that “South Africa is needed at the table”. Political analyst Professor Andre Duvenhage said G20 matters were no longer pressing, explaining to The Citizen that other events were now dominating the world agenda. The European Union is dealing with a possible peace treaty between Ukraine and Russia, where Trump has spent the week playing a prominent role. Duvenhage said that the no-show of five other G20 leaders, in addition to Trump, was already a marker that the summit was secondary to other issues.
The African Union (AU) is also represented at the G20 through the Chairman of its Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The AU is seeking greater integration of the continent to enhance overall growth of African nations and will not approve of Trump and his government of seeking to isolate Africa’s largest economy. The European Union (EU) too has deep trade relations with Pretoria and is represented in the economic bloc through the President of its own Commission. The European powers of London, Paris and Berlin all have close links to Pretoria and will have to determine whether it will be worth it to side with Trump. Eurasian Brics powers such as Beijing, New Delhi and Moscow will also be largely preoccupied in pressing forward with their own agendas but are weary of the treatment meted out by Trump Administration via the trade tariffs. Even Brasilia, a close ally of Pretoria will disapprove.
“There will be a continuation of bilateral relations, but not so much in terms of these groupings standing up as the G20 and making a statement. “There may be voices coming from Africa saying we need to be representative, but as for the other states, I am just not seeing them in a direct way propagating the case of South Africa. “We may see support from certain sources behind the scenes, but I don’t see a leader standing up and saying we need to fight for South Africa to be part of the G20 in 2026,” explained Duvenhage.
Trump’s decision to exclude South Africa will prove to risk isolating African economies as a whole. Pretoria for its part should determine how it handles rural area violence be it against black or white, farmers or farm workers. Trump and his administration should respect that. South Africa is the gateway to Africa’s Southern region. No foreign corporation from any major economy in the world can do business in Southern Africa without a South African corporation’s assistance or approval of South Africa as a state. Pretoria has the power to use this leverage. It is time for Pretoria to come forward and ask where the allies with whom it has built partnerships with stand on Trump’s decision to isolate South Africa. The G20 is an informal block with no legal binding charter or secretariat, economic as well as industrial influence and strength are the main determinatives.
The involuntary absence of one member state of the G20 could jeopardize the session meetings where delegates and diplomats; debate and lobby for votes on various issues. Reports are drafted collaboratively and according to consensus on what issues will receive the most votes at the end of the Summit. South Africa a key strategic partner and player who is involved in laying the cornerstones of these discussions.
Trump could prevent South Africa from attending the summit in person, creating functional exclusion without altering its legal membership. This administrative leverage masquerades as power, a tool that, if used, would test G20 norms and the patience of its members. Herein lies the dilemma: while legally permissible, denying attendance risks triggering a structural crisis. A summit convened without all members is procedurally irregular. India, China, Brazil, and the African Union may interpret exclusion as overreach; some may boycott or send minimal delegations. The legitimacy of the summit would be called into question, shifting the narrative from collaboration to coercion. The G20, founded on consensus, would risk becoming a host-dominated stage.
The above scenario is a likelihood and it is likely that those member nations and international blocs with an economic relationship with South Africa will distance themselves from G20 Miami 2026. Afterall Trump has sort to be tough when it came to imposing trade tariffs on the G20 nations concerned. There is also the possibility that Trump could be the one who could risk emerging humiliated and further isolated. Diplomacy is a thin and delicate tightrope that must be walked with immense caution. You must treat your allies and trade partners with the same respect you yourself desire to be treated with. Do on to others what you would have them do on to you. Only time will tell how this plays out.
Below is the main list of rules and protocols as associated with the G20, as put forward by Copilot.
Source
Recent Developments and Issues
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
