Tension in India as Trump moves to block South Africa from G20 summit

Senior figures in India’s opposition have pressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to defend South Africa after former United States President Donald Trump declared that Pretoria would be barred from next year’s G20 Summit in Miami.

• India’s Congress Party has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to defend South Africa after Donald Trump announced that Pretoria would be barred from the 2026 G20 Summit.
• Trump claimed he would block South Africa’s invitation and suspend payments to Pretoria, accusations the South African government rejects.
• Congress leaders say the move undermines the G20’s founding principles and insults Africa and the wider Global South.
• South African President Cyril Ramaphosa described the decision as regrettable and driven by misinformation rather than diplomacy.

The move has sparked diplomatic unease across Africa and the wider Global South, especially given South Africa’s long-standing role in the grouping.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh questioned whether Modi would intervene with what he described as the Prime Minister’s close ally in Washington.

Writing on X, he noted that Trump’s announcement directly contradicts the G20’s principles.

“The Prime Minister is the self-proclaimed champion of both Africa and the Global South. Will he take up South Africa’s cause with his good friend and ensure that it will get to attend the next G20 Summit, as it is perfectly entitled to?” he asked.

Trump had earlier posted on Truth Social that he would block South Africa’s invitation to the 2026 meeting, which the United States is hosting.

“South Africa will not be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20,” he wrote, claiming that Washington had suspended payments and subsidies to Pretoria over what he said were unaddressed human rights concerns relating to white communities.

The South African government has repeatedly rejected such allegations as baseless.

Ramesh stressed that South Africa’s place in the G20 is not a matter of political favour, but of economic significance.

He pointed out that it has been part of the group “from the very beginning because it is the continent’s largest economy by GDP,” adding that it has been a “valued presence” since the first summit in 2008.

He also highlighted the deep political and historical connections linking India and South Africa through partnerships such as BRICS, IBSA, and BASIC.

Ramesh invoked the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi’s years in South Africa, noting that “an Indian lawyer went to South Africa in the late nineteenth century and returned home as a revolutionary.”

Another Congress figure, Anand Sharma, sharply criticised Trump’s decision, calling it an affront to Africa and the Global South.

“It is an insult to the African continent. India has a moral duty to take a firm position and mobilise the Global South to collectively reject the new imperialism,” he said.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa described Trump’s move as “regrettable,” stating that it stemmed from misinformation rather than diplomacy.

His office emphasised that South Africa had fulfilled all its responsibilities when it formally handed over the G20 presidency to a United States Embassy representative earlier this year.