US drops South Africa from 2026 G20, invites Poland to join

Washington: The United States, which assumed the presidency of the Group of 20 on December 1, said it will not invite South Africa to participate in the 2026 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Miami, accusing the ANC-led government of sabotage, hostility toward the United States, and an agenda that undermined the forum’s economic mission.

New Delhi is expected to follow the development closely, given India’s own recent presidency and sustained role in shaping G20 priorities.

Outlining Washington’s plan for the 2026 cycle, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the G20 would return to core priorities focused on economic growth.

In a sub-stack post, Rubio said the United States will highlight “innovation, entrepreneurship, and perseverance” during America’s 250th anniversary year, and will centre its presidency on “removing regulatory burdens, unlocking affordable and secure energy supply chains, and pioneering new technologies and innovation.”

The first Sherpa and Finance Track meetings will take place in Washington on December 15–16. The year-long calendar will culminate in the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Miami in December 2026.

Rubio said the US would “be inviting friends, neighbors, and partners to the American G20,” including Poland, which he said now “ranks among the world’s 20 largest economies.” Poland’s inclusion, he argued, reflects the success of a country that embraced reforms and “a focus on the future.”

In sharp contrast, he issued a sweeping indictment of South Africa’s leadership, saying that after the Mandela era, its government “replaced reconciliation with redistributionist policies that discouraged investment and drove South Africa’s most talented citizens abroad.” He said “racial quotas have crippled the private sector, while corruption bankrupts the state,” leaving the country “firmly outside the group of the 20 largest industrialized economies.”

Rubio accused the ANC of scapegoating minorities and the United States, alleging “an appetite for racism and tolerance for violence against its Afrikaner citizens.” He cited South Africa’s ties with Iran, “its entertainment of Hamas sympathizers,” and closeness to “America’s greatest adversaries.”

He said South Africa’s presidency of the G20 this year had “tarnished the G20’s reputation” by promoting “spite, division, and radical agendas,” including a focus on climate change, diversity and inclusion, and aid dependency. He accused Pretoria of ignoring US objections, blocking inputs from Washington and other countries, and “doxing US officials working on these negotiations.”

“For these reasons,” Rubio said, “President Trump and the United States will not be extending an invitation to the South African government.” He added that the US “supports the people of South Africa, but not its radical ANC-led government.”

A State Department media note confirmed the US presidency and reiterated its focus on economic growth, energy security, and technological innovation. The G20 Leaders’ Summit will be held in Miami in December 2026.

Formed in 1999 and elevated to the leaders’ level in 2008, the G20 brings together advanced and major emerging economies that drive global growth. The United States last hosted the G20 in 2009, when world leaders met in Pittsburgh to coordinate responses to the financial crisis.

India, which steered the 2023 G20 to consensus despite geopolitical fractures, has emphasised inclusive growth, digital innovation, resilient supply chains, and development financing — areas that converge with several US priorities for 2026. New Delhi is expected to watch the US presidency carefully, especially as Washington reshapes membership participation and reorients the forum toward advanced-technology governance.

IANS