South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday (Nov 30) firmly rejected US President Donald Trump’s warning that South Africa could be barred from the G20 summit scheduled for next year, stressing that the country remains a founding and fully recognised member of the group. The United States chose not to attend the G20 leaders’ meeting held in Johannesburg on Nov 22–23 under South Africa’s presidency. During this period, Trump repeated widely debunked accusations that South Africa’s Black-majority government discriminates against its white citizens.

Trump claimed last Wednesday that South Africa would not receive an invitation to the 2026 summit in Florida, alleging that Pretoria had refused to transfer the G20 presidency to a senior American representative present at the event’s closing ceremony. South Africa, however, maintains that it formally handed over the rotating presidency to an official from the US embassy.

In his state of the nation address, Ramaphosa emphasised that “South Africa is and will remain a full, active and constructive member of the G20,” reaffirming the country’s position in the group. He also rejected Trump’s repeated assertions that South Africa is carrying out “genocide against Afrikaners,” descendants of Dutch settlers, or seizing land from white citizens, calling these allegations “blatant misinformation.”

Despite the diplomatic tensions, Ramaphosa highlighted that American businesses and civil society groups participated meaningfully in G20-related activities held in Johannesburg. He concluded by saying that South Africa values these positive engagements and intends to continue working cooperatively within the G20 framework, signalling Pretoria’s commitment to maintaining dialogue with Washington.