By Lesedi Sibiya-Diplomatic Insider

United States President Donald Trump has opted not to attend this year’s G20 Leader’s Summit which will be held in South Africa from 22-23 November 2025. This has caused a further blow in US-SA relations which has already been on rocky grounds for the majority of the year.

Ever since the beginning of Trump’s second term as United States President, the relations between South Africa and the United States has taken a tumultuous turn which began with unsubstantiated claims of a white genocide in South Africa.

The expulsion of South African Ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool, earlier this year has also caused strain between the two nations. Now that Donald Trump has decided to boycott this year’s summit, it puts South Africa in a tight situation, especially considering that South Africa is to hand over its presidency to the United States.

 University of Kwazulu-Natal International Relations expert Dr Noluthando Phungula has expressed that what further adds to this tension between the two nations is South Africa’s BRICS membership, which goes against the policies of the US.

 “This reality builds into the BRICS expansion and growth. This decision inadvertently speaks to a clearer call from the Global South towards multilateralism and a reformation of international power structures.” said Phungula.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has also given his thoughts on Trump’s boycott of the G20 leader’s summit, describing the boycott as “their loss” and has affirmed that the summit will continue with or without the participation of the US.

Phungula has also highlighted that this situation may be counter productive towards the effectiveness of the G20 as well as future G20 summits that may take place, because of the lack of cohesion in membership.

 “The US sponsors most of the international initiatives like climate change, they use a huge amount of money for the operation of the United Nations and other Financial Institutions like the World Trade Organisation. If the US is boycotting then it sends a strong message of the future of multilateralism and how the G20 is going to operate moving forward,” said a researcher on SA foreign policy Dr Nomvula Mphahlele.

 Mphahlele highlighted that despite the lack of participation from the United States at this year’s G20, this does not make it clear if the United States have completely lost interest in participating in the G20 as a whole.

 “It also has implications for those countries that are associated with the US. As you saw, Argentina is currently receiving financial support from the United States. So obviously it has to be seen to be standing in solidarity with the US,” Mphahlele said further.

 “The United States by not being at the G20, one must never think that we are not going to go on with the G20. The G20 will go on. All the other heads of state will be there. In the end, we will take fundamental decisions and their absence is their loss,” said Ramaphosa as he told reporters outside of parliament last Wednesday. .