Johannesburg – The United States has been officially marked absent from the G20 Leaders Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Department confirmed on Saturday.
Speaking at the Nasrec Expo Centre, DIRCO spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said, “The United States is not attending. We will mark them absent. And we have marked them absent. The whole world is here and that’s what we want to focus on our agenda. Those who are not present are not present. It is what it is.”
The US reportedly attempted a last-minute accreditation to attend the summit, but the deadline had already passed. The absence comes amid growing tensions between Washington and Pretoria over global alignments, South Africa’s stance on the Russia–Ukraine conflict, and ongoing trade disagreements.
The US, which is due to assume the G20 presidency next, had proposed sending only a junior embassy official to receive the ceremonial handover from South Africa. This was rejected by President Cyril Ramaphosa, with DIRCO spokesperson Vincent Magwenya saying, “We will not be handing over to a junior official here. It’s a matter of process. They will be taking over the presidency, and that can be done at the appropriate level.”
Phiri added that South Africa had received no update on whether a senior US official might attend Sunday’s final session, but stressed that the absence would not affect the summit’s agenda or the final declaration. “What’s going to happen here is a discussion with all the world leaders that are present. Those who are not here are not here. Our media should not be obsessed about people who are not in the room. What’s important is what’s being discussed in the room,” he said.
Despite the absence of the world’s largest economy, Phiri said technical negotiations were largely complete and delegates present were moving closer to reaching a consensus. “We believe the leaders who are here will be able to edge closer to that consensus,” he said.
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