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G20: The world is arriving but not the US Ntandoyenkosi… Mon, 11/10/2025 - 16:13 This combination of file pictures shows US President Donald Trump (L) and President Cyril Ramaphosa. This combination of file pictures shows US President Donald Trump (L) and President Cyril Ramaphosa. Ting Shen and Alfredo Zuniga / AFP JOHANNESBURG - In an unprecedented move, Washington has decided to boycott the 2025 G20 Leaders’ Summit which will be held in Johannesburg on the weekend of 22 and 23 November. US President Donald Trump took to social media to make the announcement. He said: It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa. Afrikaners (people who are descended from Dutch settlers, and also French and German immigrants) are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated . Pretoria has strongly denied the claims. So too have other groupings including prominent Afrikaners. READ | Trump Boycotts SA’s G20 Summit Over ‘Afrikaner Killings’ ClaimHistorically Washington has played an important role at G20 meetings. It is also the world’s biggest economy. Analysts say it’s absence could prevent the adoption of firm declarations. Professor Anthoni van Nieuwkerk, a governance expert, told eNCA: “The G20 summit is now compromised. We are going to struggle for the next two or three weeks to try and rescue the situation.”South Africa, which holds the 2025 G20 presidency, is due to hand over the chairmanship to the United States.Van Nieuwkerk said Trump was likely to do undo much of what South Africa sought to achieve during its chairmanship of the G20. While the US stays away, South Africa is still expected to host about 30 world leaders. These include G20 members, and 14 countries invited as guests. Other than the US, most other members of the 21-strong G20 grouping are likely to be represented by their leaders or senior members of government. This includes the leaders of Germany, Japan and India. At this stage it is not clear if Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend. However, China has been supportive of South Africa’s presidency and if President Xi does not attend it is likely that the Premier will. Japan s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya attended the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in February and expressed Japan s support for South Africa s priorities, emphasising cooperation on disaster risk reduction, critical minerals, and debt sustainability.
Canada s Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne participated in G20 finance meetings in South Africa in July, demonstrating ongoing engagement throughout the presidency cycle.India, one of the G20’s key emerging economies, has engaged in preparatory taskforces and Sherpa meetings hosted by South Africa and is expected to send senior representation, contributing to the summit’s emphasis on development and equity. At the G20 in South Africa, I have one simple message: the world has changed and so must we. These are the words of UK Development Minister, Baroness Chapman, speaking at a development meeting earlier in the year, where the UK expressed its support for South Africa and the Global South under South Africa s G20 themes.France has also indicated its support for South Africa s G20 Presidency and its agenda by sending high level delegates to the earlier sherpa and finance track meetings hosted by South Africa. French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, called on all French institutions earlier, saying Without your action, the word of France that you are responsible for carrying would ring hollow. It is you who give it substance and heart . Moscow has also signalled representation, but not at presidential level.Russian President Vladimir Putin seldom travels due to an International Criminal Court warrant of arrest. This is linked to allegations of war crimes committed in the Ukraine.The Kremlin named Maxim Oreshkin — a deputy chief of staff and former economy minister — to lead the Russian delegation, with other senior officials attending in place of President Vladimir Putin.Canada s Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne participated in G20 finance meetings in South Africa in July, demonstrating ongoing engagement throughout the presidency cycle. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose country held the 2024 G20 presidency, met with Ramaphosa in November to discuss the handover and coordinate positions.Brazil has indicated it will attend to support South Africa s leadership.Other G20 members — including the Republic of Korea, Australia and Turkey — have been engaged with the South African presidency during preparatory Sherpa and finance track meetings, and most are expected to send high-level delegations. Indonesian President, Prabowo Subianto, has publicly made his commitment to attend the G20.In a meeting President Cyril Ramaphosa, Subianto said, I plan to attend, and I think this will symbolise the strength of South-South cooperation. We are confident that South Africa s leadership will move forward towards a more inclusive and equitable global economic order. There is no firm indication yet whether Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will attend.In February this year, the Mexican delegation, represented by Undersecretary María Teresa Mercado, reaffirmed its commitment to multilaterism and backing South Africa s focus on inclusive economic growth, food security, sustainable development.The European Union has publicly pledged support for South Africa’s G20 presidency and its agenda of “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability.”European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met President Ramaphosa this year and European institutions have signalled they will be present in Johannesburg to back cooperation on debt reform, green finance and industrial transition. The African Union, which became a full G20 member in 2024, expressed strong support through a statement released on X (formerly Twitter): The African Union Commission warmly expresses its support for the Republic of South Africa as G20 Chair and welcomes the country for hosting the G20 Summit in Africa for the first time. The handover from South Africa to the US presidency in November 2025 will proceed as scheduled, with the Trump administration planning to host the 2026 G20 summit at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

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