‘We will not be sidelined’: ANC hopes G20 allies pressure US to rethink SA exclusion from Miami summit

‘We will not be sidelined’: ANC hopes G20 allies pressure US to rethink SA exclusion from Miami summit

South Africa’s place at global decision-making tables is under the spotlight again and the African National Congress believes the world’s major economies should remind Washington that G20 membership is not something the US can trim with a red pen.

This comes after comments attributed to President Donald Trump’s administration suggested South Africa would not be invited to the G20 Leaders Summit in Miami next year, igniting a diplomatic storm and a wave of criticism from Pretoria.

At the ANC’s national general council in Ekurhuleni this week, NEC member and Deputy International Relations Minister Thandi Moraka made it clear: South Africa wants dialogue, but it also wants respect.

Tense diplomacy behind closed doors

Speaking on the sidelines of the gathering, Moraka said the party has set up a dedicated international relations commission to manage the increasingly fragile relationship with the United States.

“South Africa’s foreign policy remains independent,” she emphasised, a line that feels particularly sharp given recent US rhetoric accusing South Africa of human rights violations and “genocidal targeting” of white citizens, a claim Pretoria has rejected for years as misinformation.

Moraka says government has tried to clear the air.
A high-level delegation led by President Cyril Ramaphosa even travelled to Washington to challenge what she described as “serious disinformation”.

Still, if the US insists on excluding SA from a summit meant for 20 equal member nations, Moraka argues the rule-book itself may need revisiting.

“You cannot invite and uninvite member states based on personal feelings,” she said. “We hope G20 members will speak sense to the United States.”

A complicated friendship

Relations between Pretoria and Washington go through phases warm on trade, strained on global politics, particularly around land reform, Israel-Palestine, BRICS expansion and South Africa’s push for a more multipolar world.

The tension hit a curious contrast last month when South Africa successfully hosted the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, the first on African soil. Leaders praised the event. The US, however, was not there.

Online, reaction has been split along familiar lines.
Supporters demand that South Africa stand firm, pointing out that G20 relies on shared leadership, not American gatekeeping. Others fear diplomatic fallout, citing ongoing trade benefits, AGOA links and how symbolic snubs can snowball into economic ones.

“SA must not be bullied because we’re African,” one user posted on X.
Another wrote, “We host the G20 but can’t attend in Miami? Make it make sense.”

What happens next?

Moraka insists South Africa will keep engaging, even with friction in the air.
“We’ve had relations with the US for a long time,” she told IOL. “We must continue those engagements.”

But behind the calm tone lies a bigger question for foreign policy watchers:
Is this a temporary spat or the start of a reshaped global alignment as South Africa deepens ties with BRICS+ and other non-Western partners?

For now, the ANC hopes diplomacy prevails and fellow G20 members apply pressure where needed. Whether the US yields is another story.

One thing is clear, South Africa doesn’t plan to give up its seat without a conversation, a challenge, and perhaps, a bit of African backbone.

{Source: IOL}

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