South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has criticized US President Donald Trump’s decision to skip the G20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg later this month, describing boycott politics as ineffective.
Trump cited claims of white persecution in South Africa—widely discredited and unsupported by credible evidence—as his reason for not attending the summit, scheduled for 22–23 November.
Speaking outside Parliament, Ramaphosa said the US’s absence was “their loss” and would not halt the Summit, noting that boycott actions fail to achieve meaningful progress. He added that the US was forfeiting “the very important role that they should be playing as the biggest economy in the world,” according to AFP.
The Summit, hosted for the first time on African soil, is part of South Africa’s G20 presidency, during which the chairing country sets the agenda for discussions on global economic issues.
While Trump will send Vice-President JD Vance in his stead, Argentinian President Javier Milei has also opted out, delegating attendance to his foreign minister.
The South African Government reiterated that there is no evidence of a “white genocide” or of uncompensated land confiscation affecting white farmers, countering claims made by Trump. Ramaphosa emphasised that decisions taken at the summit would continue to advance key issues, irrespective of the absence of certain leaders.