G20 Opens in Johannesburg Without U.S. as Ramaphosa Seeks Leaders’ Declaration

Overview

• The first Africa-hosted G20 began in Johannesburg with leaders including Narendra Modi, Emmanuel Macron and China’s Premier Li Qiang in attendance, while Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are absent.
• Trump ordered a U.S. boycott over disputed claims about the treatment of white Afrikaners, an allegation South Africa rejects, and Washington will send an embassy representative only for the presidency handover.
• Negotiators finalized a draft joint text on Friday, and President Cyril Ramaphosa is pressing for a leaders’ declaration even as the United States has warned against issuing a statement in the G20’s name.
• On the sidelines, the European Union announced a new critical minerals agreement with South Africa, and leaders pursued bilateral engagements including Modi’s meeting with Australia’s Anthony Albanese.
• European leaders planned consultations at the summit on Ukraine after Trump advanced a unilateral plan, underscoring divisions that could complicate consensus on broader economic and climate priorities.