South Africa says it will step aside from all G20 meetings in 2026 after the United States formally barred it from participating during Washington’s presidency of the global economic bloc. The decision marks a deepening rift between Pretoria and Washington, following months of diplomatic strain and an unprecedented US boycott of South Africa’s own G20 summit held in November.
The US State Department confirmed this week that South Africa would not receive an invitation to the meetings, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio citing long-standing complaints — including what he described as discriminatory treatment of the country’s white Afrikaner minority. Pretoria has dismissed the allegation as baseless.
Responding on Thursday, presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya said South Africa had no intention of pushing back or rallying other nations to protest the US position, adding that the country would “take a commercial break until we resume normal programming” when the presidency passes to the United Kingdom in 2027.
Magwenya stressed that while South Africa will temporarily stay away, it does not expect — nor desire — other G20 countries to boycott the forum on its behalf. “In fact, it would be unhelpful if the entire year goes to waste and the G20 is collapsed,” he said in remarks later published by the Sunday Times.
Pretoria, however, hopes that fellow member states will register their dissatisfaction with Washington’s stance, describing the US decision as contrary to the core values of multilateral cooperation that the G20 was created to uphold.
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The G20, made up of the world’s largest economies alongside the European Union and African Union, represents 85 per cent of global GDP and two-thirds of the global population. Its Johannesburg summit — the first ever hosted on African soil — saw broad international attendance, but was notably snubbed by US President Donald Trump.
Relations between Pretoria and Washington have worsened in recent months, with the US expelling South Africa’s ambassador in March and imposing 30 per cent tariffs on several South African exports — penalties Pretoria is still attempting to reverse.
As the diplomatic standoff continues, South Africa’s decision to skip the 2026 cycle underscores the deepening political tensions that now threaten to spill into multilateral economic cooperation.