Ramaphosa Says No Bullying Among Nations at G20 Social Summit
- President Ramaphosa issued a message to the world, cautioning against the bullying of nations
- The President addressed the G20 Social Summit on Thursday, November 20, 2025, calling for equality among all nations within the G20
- This message follows strained relations between South Africa and the administration of Donald Trump, which resulted in the U.S. boycotting the summit
Source: Twitter
Johannesburg – President Ramaphosa has sent a clear message of equal respect and economic cooperation amongst the G20 nations during his address at the closing ceremony of the G20 Social Summit at Nasrec Expo Center on Thursday, November 20, 2025.
Arousing a strong round of applause from the audience, he condemned the existing inequalities among nations in the G20 driven by national geography and income levels.
"For the G20 to fully live up to its mission of promoting international financial stability and deepening economic cooperation, there should be no unwritten rule about those who feast and who must settle for scraps," he said
Seemingly addressing the U.S. and the tense relations with South Africa, Ramaphosa argued that a country's geographical location, income level, or military strength should not dictate who is treated with respect or 'spoken down to'
"There should be no bullying of one nation by another," he declared, eliciting another round of applause from the audience
This statement follows the US issuing a warning to South Africa against making a G20 declaration in its absence. The US has reportedly pressured its allies to refrain from supporting any declaration, an action seen as an attempt to undermine South Africa's presidency.
Despite this pressure, negotiations among the G20 members continue ahead of the summit, which is set to commence on Saturday, November 22. President Ramaphosa had previously responded to the U.S. boycott by asserting that 'boycott policies do not work.'
"The summit will go on. We are not going to stop because they are not here. We will continue and we will make fundamental decisions on matters that affect the people of the world.”
Furthermore, he stated he will not travel to the US to hand over the G20 presidency gavel but will likely hand over to an empty chair.
Source: Twitter
Social media reacts to Ramaphosa's address:
@mokone_lebo17 said:
Most African leaders changed their tone after the treatment they received during the first Covid vaccine rollout. It seems the EU, China, and Russia understand that African countries are pushing for equal, mutually beneficial relations. Only Washington act like the master
@Mswatigirl_123 states:
I support you because America hates you, it means you are on the right track.
@DGaybba argued:
What SAfricans hear is blah blah blah while seeing the dollar signs in the eyes of the sell-outs #IndependentSA
@Leonard572 commented:
While Mr.C Ramaphosa is bullying South African civilian citizens by keeping them economically oppressed, by practicing fraudulent gluttonous nepotistic and unfairly discrimination.
@ZA_Citizen1 said:
We are here President
3 Briefly News articles that reported on the breakdown of US-Africa relations
- In May, the South African President visited the White House for bilateral discussions with Trump. During this visit, the South African delegation faced accusations of a "white genocide" occurring in South Africa, a claim that Ramaphosa questioned.
- Donald Trump announced his plans to hit South Africa with a 30% tariff hike. The tariff hike was set to Take effect on August 1, 2025.The Department of International Relations believed this was retaliation for SA opening a case against Israel at the ICJ.
- Trump boycotts the G20 and states South African should lose its spot in the G20.
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Proofreading by Kelly Lippke, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.
Source: Briefly News
