South Africa comments on Trump’s G20 decision

The gathering will be successful regardless of whom Washington assigns to attend, Pretoria’s International Relations Minister has said

South Africa has welcomed the decision by US President Donald Trump to send Vice President J.D. Vance in his place to the G20 world leaders’ summit in Johannesburg in November.

Trump confirmed on Friday that he will skip the summit. He had earlier said he would not attend because of South Africa’s “very bad policies” and the “problems” he has with Pretoria.

“I won’t be going this year, it’s in South Africa. I won’t be going, J.D. will be going, great vice president, and he looks forward to it,” Trump told reporters on Friday.

Speaking to state broadcaster SABC on Saturday, South African International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola said the gathering will be successful regardless of whom Washington sends to attend.

“We welcome the fact that he [Trump] has assigned or appointed his deputy president, J.D. Vance, to be the one who attends the G20 in South Africa,” Lamola said in the televised interview.

“The US can assign anyone that President Trump deems necessary. We look forward to interacting with him on the platforms of the G20,” he added.

Trump’s absence will mark the first time a US leader has skipped a G20 summit since the forum began meeting at the head-of-state level in 2008.

South Africa assumed the rotating presidency of the G20 in December, becoming the first African nation to lead the forum. It will host the group’s upcoming summit under the theme “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability.” 

The Trump administration, however, has accused Pretoria of pushing an “anti-American” agenda, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing he will boycott the event.

Relations between Pretoria and Washington have deteriorated since Trump returned to office in January. He has repeatedly accused South Africa’s leaders of pursuing policies that enable land seizures from white farmers and amount to genocide. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has dismissed the allegations as baseless and met with Trump in an effort to dispel the “completely false narrative.”

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