The G20 Summit in South African capital of Johannesburg concluded with a diplomatic rift between the host and the country which will host the dialogue the next year – South Africa and the US. This year, the US President – Donald Trump – skipped the Leaders’ Summit. Several other leaders’ did so including Chinese President Xi Jinping and their Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The US said it would only attend the handover of the presidency ceremony. But South Africa reportedly refused to do so because America sent a junior US official, reported AP.
The Group of 20 Summit saw a tense atmosphere on Sunday as South Africa refused to hand over the rotating presidency to a junior US official, and maintained that transfer should happen at the same level. The two countries were already in a bitter mode for the other as Trump claimed that South Africa is violently persecuting its Afrikaner white minority, and decided to ditch the conference.
Sunday drama at G20 Summit 2025
The US is due to take over as G20 president for 2026. The administration said it would host its summit at President Donald Trump’s golf club in Doral, Florida. On Sunday, during the handover, South Africa insisted that a traditional handover ceremony at the end of this summit likely won’t happen.
Reason – South Africa said the US only wanted to send a diplomatic official from its embassy, which it called an insult to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“The United States is a member of the G20 and if they want to be represented, they can still send anyone at the right level,” South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said, quoted the Associated Press.
“It is the leaders’ summit. The right level is the head of state, a special envoy appointed by the president of that country, or it could also be a minister,” he added.
Now, South Africa said, the handover would happen later, most likely at its foreign ministry building at diplomatic level.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), however, said there is no diplomatic dispute with the United States that requires resolution.
DIRCO Spokesperson Crispin Phiri emphasised that the issue centred on the level of US representation, “You can’t send a junior official to the G20 to be handed over. It’s not a matter of dispute, it’s straight up respect,” reported South African media.
US-South Africa rift wide in open
The tension between the US and South Africa has been there for quite some time. South African President Ramaphosa earlier this week said the US had changed its mind and wanted to participate in the summit at the last minute. The White House rejected the same, adding that the US officials would only attend the formal handover. This intensified the bitterness already brewing.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt then said that Ramaphosa was “running his mouth a little bit against the United States and the president of the United States.” This time, South Africa broke with tradition at the first G20 summit in Africa by issuing a leaders’ declaration on the opening day of the talks on Saturday. Usually, the Declarations are announced at the end of the summit.
South Africa championed the declaration as a victory for the summit and for international cooperation in the face of the Trump administration’s “America First” foreign policy, the report added.
The US, meanwhile, remained critical of a South African agenda for the group that largely focuses on climate change and global wealth inequality.
So far, no official response has come from the US on the denial of handover by South Africa for US’ diplomatic staff.
