New Trump order: US snubs G-20 foreign ministers meet in South Africa

Amid the brewing tensions between South Africa and the United States, Secretary of State Marco Rubio decided to not attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which is currently taking place in Johannesburg. Diplomats from Russia, China and India attended the gathering and held talks on a wide range of issues.

Rubio confirmed the news ahead of the meeting, insisting that he would not “coddle anti-Americanism”. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Rubio claimed that South Africa was doing “very bad things”, using the G20 “to promote ‘solidarity, equality, & sustainability.’ In other words: DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] and climate change”. “My job is to advance America’s national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism,” he added.

Soon after Rubio, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that he would not be attending the G20 Finance Ministers’ Meeting, which is scheduled to take place next week. Bessent, however, maintained that he would not participate in the event because of obligations in Washington. A senior Treasury official will attend in his place.

The snub coming at a turbulent time

It is pertinent to note that South Africa is the first African nation to preside over G20, as it hopes to advance the interests of developing nations in the continent. The country will be holding the G20 leadership until November 2025, when it is expected to pass the baton to the United States, which will take the presidency next.

The American diplomats’ decision to skip the event came at a time when the ties between the two nations deteriorated. Relations became strained ever since US President Donald Trump took office in January and raised questions about how much South Africa can achieve during its presidency over the body.

Not only this, Trump also signed an executive order to cut aid to South Africa, accusing the nation of “unjust and immoral practices” against the white minority Afrikaner community and filing a genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023.

South Africa tries to ease the situation

After Rubio’s provocative complaint, South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola made it clear that his American counterpart’s decision was “not a complete boycott of South Africa’s G20.” He insisted that the United States would still be represented in Johannesburg this week “in one form or shape or another.”

Meanwhile, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa gathered that his nation’s commitment to multilateralism and international law is vital to solving global crises. In his opening address at the event, Ramaphosa said that an “already fragile global coexistence” was threatened by rising intolerance, conflicts and climate change.

“Yet there is a lack of consensus among major powers, including in the G20, on how to respond to these issues of global significance,” the South African president said. “It is critical that the principles of the UN Charter, multilateralism and international law should remain at the centre of all our endeavour,” he added.