Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that South Africa will not be invited to the 2026 Group of 20 (G20) summit, set to take place in Miami, Florida. Additionally, Trump declared that all U.S. aid to South Africa would cease immediately, as per his directive.

According to Namibia Press Agency, Trump made this announcement on his social media platform, Truth Social, stating, "At my direction, South Africa will not be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20, which will be hosted in the Great City of Miami, Florida next year." He further emphasized the immediate cessation of payments and subsidies to South Africa.

The decision follows long-standing allegations made by Trump that white individuals in South Africa are being targeted and their farms seized indiscriminately, claims that have been consistently denied by the South African government. The tension between the two nations escalated when Trump criticized South Africa for not handing over the G20 presidency to a senior U.S. diplomat at the closing ceremony of the recent summit.

The relationship between Washington and Pretoria has been strained since Trump's return to office. In February, Trump issued an executive order freezing U.S. aid to South Africa, attributing his decision to the Expropriation Act signed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in January. Trump accused the law of discriminating against the country's white population.

In response, the South African government contested the U.S. accusations, labeling the aid freeze as inaccurate and overlooking South Africa's historical context of colonialism and apartheid. Tensions further intensified with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's announcement of his intention to boycott the G20 summit in Johannesburg.

Additional diplomatic strains emerged in March when the U.S. expelled South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool following his criticism of Trump. In May, Trump confronted President Ramaphosa in Washington with unsubstantiated claims of "white genocide," which Ramaphosa firmly denied, emphasizing that the majority of crime victims in South Africa are Black.

Earlier this month, Trump announced that no U.S. officials would participate in the upcoming G20 summit, further highlighting the deteriorating relations between the two countries.