Moving on: South Africa bypasses US G20 snub to focus on business, future hosts

Moving on: South Africa bypasses US G20 snub to focus on business, future hosts

Instead of dwelling on the diplomatic snub from Washington, Pretoria is pivoting its focus to the business sector and future hosts.

South Africa is officially done waiting for an invitation to the United States (US) G20 summit.

Instead of dwelling on the diplomatic snub from Washington, Pretoria is pivoting its focus to the business sector and future hosts.

South Africa’s Ambassador to the US, Roelf Meyer, confirmed on Monday that while the exclusion from the Miami summit in December was initially a stumbling block, the government has moved past it.

“In the beginning it was a factor that was recognised as a stumbling block in the relationship, but in the meantime we’ve moved on, and next year there’s a new host,” Meyer told the Cape Town Press Club.

To prove that South Africa is not isolating itself, Meyer announced that Pretoria will attend the B20 summit in Washington, DC, in November.

The B20 is the official business dialogue stream of the G20, separate from the political leaders' summit.

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Furthermore, South Africa is already engaging with the UK, which is set to take over the G20 presidency next year.

The context of this diplomatic friction is highly unusual. South Africa is a founding member of the G20.

However, US President Donald Trump boycotted South Africa’s G20 summit in Johannesburg last year and subsequently disinvited South Africa from the US-hosted summit this year.

The exclusion drew international criticism, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz publicly calling on the US to extend an invitation to Pretoria. Despite the pressure, the White House held its ground.

Meyer’s remarks suggest that South Africa has calculated that fighting for a seat at a hostile table in Miami is less productive than preparing for the UK’s presidency.