By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The White House National Security Council has banned US agencies from all work regarding the G20 summit in South Africa, according to a report by The Washington Post.
This move comes amid heightened political tensions sparked by President Donald Trump’s public threats to boycott the summit over South Africa’s land expropriation policies.
SA is set to host the G20 Summit of leaders from the world’s biggest economies in Johannesburg in November.
The G-20, which brings together the world’s largest economies to address global financial and economic challenges, is slated to be held in Johannesburg this November under the theme “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability.
There are dozens of run-up G20 events planned locally and abroad ahead of the main summit.
However, both Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, have threatened to boycott the main event, claiming a “white genocide” against the Afrikaner community in SA and lambasting land expropriation laws.Rubio has already snubbed a G20 run-up event that took place in Cape Town earlier this year.
On Monday, 49 white Afrikaners from South Africa arrived in America on an expedited refugee programme orchestrated by Trump.
President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that the Trump administration has misunderstood South Africa’s efforts to address long-standing racial inequalities dating back to the apartheid era.
“We’ll continue talking to them,” Ramaphosa remarked during a recent event in Ivory Coast, emphasizing ongoing diplomatic engagement despite the tensions.
Trump has criticized South Africa’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war, which has seen the country take Israel to the International Court of Justice and accuse it of committing a genocide in Gaza.
Trump has also signed an executive order stopping all financial aid to South Africa and has also slapped South Africa with 37% trade tariffs on its exports to the U.S., which he subsequently paused for 90 days.
The cuts were an additional blow to the country after it also lost U.S. funding for its key health programmes including the fight against HIV.
In March, the U.S. expelled Ebrahim Rasool, the South African ambassador to the U.S., over his criticism of Trump, who has hinted that he may not attend the G20 summit of world leaders scheduled to take place in Johannesburg in November.
Ramaphosa is expected to hold talks with Trump in Washington on Wednesday, May 21 and hopes to ease a simmering tensions between the two nations.
Foreign policy experts warn that the U.S. absence from the G-20 summit could shift the balance of influence toward China, which has been strategically active in setting agendas at multilateral forums. “The U.S. created the G-20 and has remained engaged even with countries like China and Russia,” Josh Lipsky, senior director at the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center told Washington Post.
He cautioned that a U.S. boycott risks ceding diplomatic ground to Beijing, which is known for its meticulous planning and assertiveness at such events.