Illustrative image: US President Donald Trump. (Photo: Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images) | SA President Cyril Ramaphosa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Jeffrey Abrahams) | flags (Image: Freepik) 
The South African government has formally asked other G20 countries to object to its exclusion from next year’s G20 at the first sherpas meeting of the US G20 on Monday, 15 December.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) sent an official “note verbale” on Wednesday, 10 December, to the embassies and high commissions of the G20 countries, with this request.
The note said that the US government had officially informed SA on 4 December that it was “not invited to participate in any G20 events during its presidency, including meetings of the sherpas, working groups, ministers as well as the 2026 Leaders’ Summit.
“The United States of America further conveyed that it will forego the troika format during its G20 presidency.”
Read more: SA not invited to first G20 meeting in US this month
The G20 troika comprises the current, immediate past and next presidencies of the forum. It provides some continuity in the running of the G20 between different presidencies.
In normal circumstances, South Africa would have remained on the troika during the US presidency next year, along with the US and the UK, which will take over the presidency for 2027.
“South Africa therefore requests that the issue of the exclusion of one G20 member be placed on the agenda of the first G20 Sherpa Meeting in Washington DC for discussion and clarification,” Dirco’s note verbale continued.
“The exclusion of South Africa by the United States of America should also be differentiated from the United States of America’s choosing not to participate in the majority of meetings held under South Africa’s G20 Presidency including the 2025 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg.
“Further, we are concerned about the precedent that will be set by the exclusion of South Africa from the G20 presidency of the United States of America in 2026.”
Read more: G20 South Africa goes post-Trump as middle powers signal fresh path
Zane Dangor, Dirco’s director-general and also SA’s G20 sherpa, told Daily Maverick on Friday that Dirco had not yet had any responses to its letter.
“I don’t expect any at this stage.”
However in an interview with News24 earlier this week, Dangor said he believed that other G20 members would raise the risk of excluding SA at the sherpa meeting on Monday.
He said this approach had been agreed upon in engagements with his G20 counterparts. Dangor told News24 that he had met with all the other sherpas, and they were all supportive.
Dangor added that SA believed that if the US went ahead without SA, then it would not be a G20, but a meeting of the US and some G20 countries.
He confirmed to Daily Maverick the basic accuracy of these remarks. DM