Washington, December 18 (ANI): Ahead of hosting the G20 Summit in Miami, Florida, next year, the United States convened its first G20 Sherpa meeting as the 2026 Presidency host in Washington, notably without participation from South Africa, the outgoing 2025 chair, amid a sharp recalibration of the forum under US President Donald Trump.
According to a release on Thursday, the US Department of State said the meeting took place from December 15 to 16 and was attended by representatives from the African Union, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Poland was the only full guest participant for the US host year.
The exclusion of South Africa followed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s earlier announcement that the Trump administration would not invite the outgoing chair due to policy differences, marking a significant departure from the G20’s tradition of inclusivity.
In a blog post titled “America Welcomes a New G20,” Rubio outlined plans for a “New G20,” welcoming Poland as a member while excluding South Africa, which he accused of prioritizing “spite, division, and radical agendas” during its presidency. Rubio described the forum’s new focus as addressing three core themes: removing regulatory burdens, unlocking affordable and secure energy supply chains, and pioneering technologies such as artificial intelligence, through four working groups.
Rubio criticized South Africa for economic policies he said discouraged investment and imposed racial quotas, and accused the African National Congress-led government of scapegoating its citizens and the US, tolerating violence against Afrikaner farmers, and aligning with adversaries such as Iran and Hamas sympathizers. He claimed South Africa’s G20 Presidency ignored US inputs, blocked negotiations, and focused instead on climate change, diversity, inclusion, and aid dependency.
At the Sherpa meeting, the United States outlined its key priorities for the presidency: fostering economic prosperity by reducing regulatory burdens, ensuring reliable and affordable energy options, and advancing innovative technologies. Four working groups were launched to develop concrete deliverables under these themes, with an additional group established to identify consensus on trade-related issues.
President Trump previously stated that South Africa would not be invited to the 2026 G20 Summit in Miami, sharply criticizing the South African government over what he described as “horrific human rights abuses.” In a post on Truth Social, he wrote, “The United States did not attend the G20 in South Africa because the South African Government refuses to acknowledge or address the horrific human rights abuses endured by Afrikaners and other descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers. To put it more bluntly, they are killing white people and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them.”
The United States assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1, coinciding with preparations for America’s 250th anniversary. The Leaders’ Summit is scheduled for December 14 to 15, 2026, at Trump National Doral Miami.
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