South Africa has confirmed that the United States is now preparing to take part in the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg after earlier announcing a boycott, marking a late shift that has opened fresh discussions between the two countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa revealed that the message from Washington came only days before the summit begins, leaving officials to quickly work out how the American team will be slotted into the programme.
Ramaphosa shared the update during a briefing in Sandton after holding talks with European Union leaders.
He said that although the decision came with little time left, South Africa is treating the move as an important change that could help avoid empty seats during key sessions.
“We have received notice from the United States about a change of mind about participating in one shape, form or another. This comes really at the late hour before the summit begins, and so therefore we do need to engage to see how practical it is and finally what it means,” he said.
He explained that South Africa is now reviewing what the US presence will look like, especially during the formal handover of the G20 presidency from Pretoria to Washington next year.
Ramaphosa said the US remains a founding member of the grouping and added that it “has the right to be here… they have a seat at the roundtable.” He noted that the new development shows that a boycott approach does not help in international cooperation.
The sudden shift follows earlier comments by US President Donald Trump, who claimed he would not attend because of what he called “bad things” happening in South Africa, including alleged mistreatment of white Afrikaners, claims that were widely disproved.
Trump had at first planned to send Vice President JD Vance, but later cancelled all official attendance. A White House official said any US participation would be restricted to the chargé d’affaires in Pretoria attending the handover moment, with no involvement in wider G20 talks.
Ramaphosa assured that the summit will proceed without changes and said South Africa is still pushing for a joint statement that reflects fairness and shared priorities, even though Washington had earlier raised objections about having a final declaration.
“We are still discussing how that [US participation] will manifest… hopefully, the US seat will be occupied when the summit opens,” he said.
This year’s meeting is historic for the continent, as it marks the first time the G20 is being hosted under African leadership. The agenda focuses on challenges that heavily affect developing countries, including climate pressures, rising debt and widening gaps between nations.
Although some leaders such as China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Argentina’s Javier Milei will not be present in person, their governments have sent teams to join the talks.
Ramaphosa said the progress in the different engagement tracks has been encouraging, pointing to strong responses from civil society and the business community as he moved between sessions.
“I’ve just spent time with people from civil society. I feel very satisfied, and now I am going to meet another group,” he said ahead of his address to the B20.
The US is expected to take over the G20 presidency in 2026, with Miami set to host the summit.
Ramaphosa highlighted the importance of a full and orderly handover and said he hopes the renewed US position will prevent an awkward moment. He added that he “doesn’t want to hand over to an empty chair,” a concern that appears to be fading as talks continue.
