South Africa has been left off the invitation list for the upcoming G20 sherpas meeting scheduled for 15–16 December 2025 in Washington, marking the first time a G20 member has been excluded from a preparatory meeting of the bloc.
The confirmation followed the United States issuing invitations to all other G20 nations except South Africa. President Donald Trump further stated that South Africa will also not be invited to next year’s G20 summit, which he intends to host at his Miami golf resort.
South Africa’s Absence Weakens Its Global Influence
Professor Christopher Isike, Director of the African Centre for the Study of the United States at the University of Pretoria, told the SABC that skipping the 2025 meetings will significantly limit South Africa’s ability to influence global policy.
He explained that South Africa would be unable to engage with or develop agendas set in previous summits, adding that the exclusion is damaging not only to South Africa but also to the United States.
Isike noted that South Africa may regain some influence in 2027, when the G20 is hosted by the United Kingdom — a country more aligned with several policy outcomes from the 2025 Johannesburg summit.
Why the US Is Targeting South Africa
Relations between Pretoria and Washington have deteriorated since Trump returned to the White House in January. The tensions escalated following:
• South Africa filing a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice at the end of 2024.
• The US skipping the G20 summit hosted in Johannesburg.
• Trump’s claim of “horrific human rights abuses” against white farmers and his false assertion of a “white genocide” in the country.
• South Africa’s refusal to symbolically hand over the G20 presidency at the Johannesburg summit.
Since returning to office, Trump has frozen funding for programmes such as PEPFAR and USAID, and imposed a 30% tariff on South African exports as part of what he calls “reciprocal measures.”
Ramaphosa: South Africa Will Not Retreat from the G20
President Cyril Ramaphosa responded firmly to the exclusion, saying South Africa will continue to participate robustly in the G20.
“Despite the challenges and misunderstandings that have arisen, South Africa remains a firm and unwavering friend of the American people,” he said.
Ramaphosa emphasised the historic solidarity between the two nations, recalling the support South Africans received from American civil society during the apartheid struggle and the influence of the US Bill of Rights on South Africa’s democratic constitution.
He added that South Africa will maintain diplomatic engagement with the US “with respect and dignity as equal sovereign countries.”
