South Africa to hand over G20 presidency to US in ‘low-key’ ceremony
The director-general of Pretoria’s international relations department says the transfer of the chairmanship will “most likely” take place on Tuesday
South Africa will hand over the presidency of the G20 to the US in a “low-key” ceremony this week, a senior official from Pretoria’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has said.
The arrangement follows Washington’s unprecedented decision to boycott the G20 summit held in Johannesburg over the weekend. US President Donald Trump ordered officials in his administration not to participate in the gathering, citing alleged “human rights abuses” against white Afrikaners in South Africa, claims that Pretoria has rejected.
“The agreement is that we should do it low-key. It is not just a South African issue; the US also does not want a very big handover event,” Zane Dangor, director-general of DIRCO, told Newzroom Afrika on Monday.
According to Dangor, the handover will “most likely” take place on Tuesday “at the level of a senior official from DIRCO to the US charge d’affaires.”
South Africa has held the rotating G20 presidency since December 2024, becoming the first African country to chair the intergovernmental forum of 19 sovereign states, the EU and the African Union.
It was due to pass the leadership to the US at the end of the Johannesburg meeting on Sunday, but the handover did not take place due to a row over US representation.
Ahead of the two-day summit, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa described the US decision to skip the event as “their loss” and said he would not hand over the presidency to “an empty chair.” He added that the G20 process was “moving forward” without Washington and insisted that Pretoria “will not agree to be bullied.”
On Sunday, G20 leaders at the summit adopted a joint declaration despite US opposition to the move in its absence.
Relations between Washington and Pretoria have deteriorated since Trump took office in January. Earlier this month, he said South Africa “shouldn’t even be” a G20 member.
In an interview with Newzroom Afrika published on Sunday, International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola said Pretoria will attend the G20 summit the US is due to host next year despite the tensions.
“We are a member state of the G20... We have a right to participate, and we will be participating,” Lamola said.
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