(IANS File photo)
Johannesburg, December 1 (IANS) South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the country would remain fully engaged in G20 activities, despite recent tensions with the United States, the host of next year's G20 meetings.
The president made the remarks on Sunday in a national address after South Africa presided over the G20 Leaders' Summit a week ago, from which Washington was absent. US President Donald Trump claimed earlier this week that South Africa would not be invited to next year's G20 meetings amid tensions in bilateral ties.
“At the conclusion of the G20, South Africa refused to hand off the G20 Presidency to a Senior Representative from our U.S. Embassy, who attended the Closing Ceremony,” Trump had said in a post on Truth Social.
“Therefore, at my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20, which will be hosted in the Great City of Miami, Florida next year,” he had said.
"We must make it clear that South Africa is one of the founding members of the G20 and South Africa is therefore a member of the G20 in its own name and right. We will continue to participate as a full, active and constructive member of the G20," Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa said the US absence from this year's leaders' summit was rooted in misinformation and "regrettable." Trump had cited allegations of "white genocide" in the African country as the reason for boycotting the summit.
"This is blatant misinformation about our country. It is even more unfortunate that the reasons the US gave for its non-participation were based on baseless and false allegations that South Africa is perpetrating genocide against Afrikaners and the confiscation of land from white people," Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa confirmed that South Africa had handed over the G20 presidency to the United States earlier this week and that his country values its relationship with Washington and remains committed to dialogue, Xinhua news agency reported.
The United States is scheduled to formally take over the presidency on December 1.
The G20 leaders adopted a declaration on November 22 in addressing the climate crisis and other global challenges despite US objections, prompting the White House to accuse South Africa of weaponising its leadership of the group this year.
