Ramaphosa Confident Trump Will Attend G20 Summit in South Africa

• President Cyril Ramaphosa said that he expects the US President, Donald Trump, to attend the G20 summit in South Africa
• Trump made it clear that he and his administration will not attend the G20 summit after white genocide claims in South Africa emerged
• During the bilateral meeting between Trump and Ramaphosa, the South African president urged the US President to reconsider his decision

The South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, is confident that the US president, Donald Trump, will attend the G20 summit in South Africa later this year.

What did Ramaphosa say?

During a bilateral meeting held at the White House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night, 21 May 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa urged US President Donald Trump to reconsider his decision and participate in the international gathering.

Ramaphosa said that he is hopeful that Trump and his administration will attend the summit, which will be held in November in Johannesburg. He said that he wants to hand the G20 presidency over to Trump. Ramaphosa said that Trump needs to be there because he does not want to hand over the presidency to an empty chair. He stated that Trump is going to reconsider his initial decision.

What did Trump say about South Africa?

Earlier this year, Trump stated that he and his administration would not attend the G20 summit because bad things are happening in South Africa. Trump believes that white farmers are under siege in South Africa and that land is being taken away from them.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would not attend the G20 Summit in Johannesburg in November. He reiterated Trump's concerns that South Africa was committing human rights violations.

Trump also cut aid to South Africa and imposed import tariffs. He announced a 25% steel tariff on all steel imports. The tariff is expected to impact South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Canada and other countries. South Africa will be hard hit by the tariffs as the country exported R9.5 billion worth of steel and over R7 billion worth of aluminium in 2024.

What you need to know about the US-SA relationship

• Tech billionaire and the US government's head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, will join Donald Trump as one of his delegates in the working visit with Cyril Ramaphosa.
• President Cyril Ramaphosa will engage with Elon Musk about business opportunities in South Africa.
• Ramaphosa and Trump held their bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, United States and called on Trump to assist the US fight crime targeting white farmers.
• President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that talks would continue between the United States of America and South Africa in the future.
• President Cyril Ramaphosa believes that the US President Donald Trump now has doubts and doesn't believe that there is white genocide in South Africa.

Fikile Mbalula praises SA delegation

Fikile Mbalula has praised the South African delegation that represented the country in the United States of America. The delegation, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, met with President Donald Trump at the White House on 21 May 2025.

The purpose of the meeting was to resolve tensions between the two countries, brought about by Trump’s claims of white genocide in the country.

Source: Briefly News