Ramaphosa and Lamola condemn exclusion from G20 by US

Faced with the unilateral decision by the US to exclude it from the G20 summit in 2026, South Africa has responded by condemning the move as a breach of the group’s founding multilateral principles.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said that South Africa will not lobby other members of the bloc to pressure the US to reverse its decision.

South Africa has not received any formal communication of exclusion and has been included in the first Sherpa meeting of the US’s G20 presidency scheduled for December 15.

The decision, made public by US secretary of state Marco Rubio, follows a boycott by Washington of the recent summit and a diplomatic row over the ceremonial hand-off of the G20 presidency. South Africa handed over the presidency of the G20 at end-November in a low-key ceremony at the head office of the international relations & co-operation department.

Ramaphosa on Thursday reiterated that Pretoria remains “a fully fledged member of the G20”.

“All we want, really, as South Africa, is to be treated as an equal, sovereign country.”

Pretoria’s participation in the 2026 Group of 20 (G20) appears set to be more subdued after the US state department confirmed it will exclude South Africa from the G20 2026 summit and invite Poland instead.

All we want, really, as South Africa, is to be treated as an equal, sovereign country.

—  President Cyril Ramaphosa

International relations minister Ronald Lamola echoed similar sentiments in a written response to Rubio on Thursday urging all member states to reaffirm the group’s founding principle, which includes equal footing and collective decision-making.

“South Africa is a founding member of the G20. No single member of the G20 has a unilateral right to exclude South Africa from the G20,” Lamola said.

“Secretary Rubio, the world is watching. It is growing weary of double standards. It is tired of lectures on democracy from those who seem to have forgotten that democracy, at its best, must listen as much as it speaks. We do not seek your approval for our path. Our path is our own, chosen by our people and guided by our sovereign laws. But we do seek — and we will always extend — a hand of respectful partnership,” he said.

For 2026, South Africa is part of the G20 troika with the US and the UK, which will hold the presidency in 2027.

Secretary Rubio, the world is watching. It is growing weary of double standards.

—  Ronald Lamola, international relations minister

The US has repeated the discredited notion of a “white genocide” in South Africa as a reason behind its unilateral decision to exclude the country from the G20. It follows the conclusion of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg last month, when leaders of the world’s largest economies affirmed multilateralism and vowed to support the US for 2026.

“About this time next year, the UK will be taking over the G20 presidency. We will be able to engage meaningfully and substantively over what really matters to the rest of the world. For now, we will take a commercial break until we resume normal programming,” Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, wrote on social media on Wednesday.

The US move is a first for the bloc, which accounts for the world’s largest economies. The G20 under the US presidency is set to deviate from SA, with Washington reducing the number of working groups.

“Under [US] President [Donald] Trump’s leadership, the G20 will use four working groups to achieve progress on three key themes: removing regulatory burdens, unlocking affordable and secure energy supply chains, and pioneering new technologies and innovation,” Rubio wrote in a statement.

The decision by the US about South Africa follows months of limited US participation in the G20 process during SA’s presidency. Washington skipped many working-group meetings and withdrew from chairing the sustainable-finance workstream, prompting Italy to take over, Business Day understands.

International relations director-general Zane Dangor told MPs in parliament on Wednesday that the non-invitation of SA is a breach of protocol.

“Guest countries get invited. South Africa is a member of the G20 and our participation shouldn’t be dependent on whether the presidency seeks to invite a member or not,” Dangor said.