South Africa G20 summit participation urged by French ambassador despite Trump ban stance

France’s ambassador to Johannesburg said South Africa should attend the G20 summit in the United States. The comments came after US President Donald Trump moved to exclude South Africa. The US hosts the summit in Florida in December. South Africa is a full G20 member and the only African country in the group.

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French Ambassador David Martinon told reporters that France saw South Africa as an equal member. "France being also a founding member of the G20, we consider of course that South Africa is a full-fledged member of the G20 and should be part of all of its meetings,\" Martinon said in Johannesburg. Other G20 members also criticised Trump’s move.

G20 summit and South Africa ban

Trump said last year the US would not invite South Africa to the December summit. The venue was Trump’s Miami-area Doral golf club. South African officials also said South Africa was locked out of G20 meetings held before the summit. These sessions traditionally run through the year and shape leaders’ discussions.

G20 members said no country had the right to block another member. The G20 includes developed and developing economies. The bloc works through consensus, rather than unilateral decisions. Martinon said diplomats from G20 countries discussed South Africa’s barring. The talks also covered what it could mean if South Africa stayed absent.

The Trump administration criticised South Africa’s Black-led government as anti-white and anti-American. Trump also made baseless claims of widespread violence against white minority farmers. South Africa’s government described the US decision as punitive. South African officials said it was based on \"completely false information.\"

G20 tensions between Washington and Johannesburg

The dispute followed a difficult G20 year when South Africa hosted the summit last year. The summit was the first G20 leaders’ meeting held in Africa. The US boycotted that gathering. Tensions continued at the end during a handover ceremony. The US sent embassy officials to take part.

South Africa refused the handover, calling it an insult. South African officials said President Cyril Ramaphosa should not hand over to junior diplomatic officials. The spat added to wider diplomatic strains between Washington and Johannesburg. Those strains continued into planning for the US-hosted summit in December.

G20 dispute and the G7 invitation row

France also rejected claims it bowed to US pressure over the G7 summit it hosts in June. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson said last month that an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron was retracted. The spokesperson said French officials cited pressure from the Trump administration. South Africa is not a G7 member.

Ramaphosa later backtracked on the spokesperson’s remarks. Ramaphosa said Ramaphosa was not aware of any US pressure. Many saw the shift as an attempt to calm tensions. Martinon repeated that France had not rescinded an invitation. Martinon said France instead planned a more streamlined summit in Évian-les-Bains.

France invited the leaders of India, Brazil, Kenya and South Korea as guests. They were to join leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and the US. \"As for the G7, I can only refer to what President Ramaphosa said about it, if I remember its something like you cant be de-invited from a forum you dont belong to, but thats his words,\" Martinon said Tuesday.

With inputs from PTI