G20 Summit: Ramaphosa calls on Trump to attend amid US concerns over SA land reform

IN A HIGH-level diplomatic mission to Washington, President Cyril Ramaphosa placed global cooperation at the centre of his dialogue with US President Donald Trump, urging Trump to attend the G20. South Africa prepares to hand over its presidency.

“So now that it is our time to hand over to them, I told him that I don't want to hand over to an empty chair. So he must come personally so that I can hand over the presidency to him,” he said.

Ramaphosa said this to journalists on the sidelines of the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa meeting in Cape Town on Tuesday.

This comes after Trump’s administration vowed to snub the G20 in the country, citing concerns over the Expropriation Act. Trump believes that the law targeted white-Afrikaners, particularly farmers.

He told Ramaphosa to relook at the law.

With rising geopolitical tensions and signs of disengagement from some global players, Ramaphosa emphasised that the US presence and leadership in multilateral institutions remain essential.

This appeal to global responsibility was one of three key objectives Ramaphosa brought to Washington.

“We felt that we needed to reset that relationship because the US is a very important player. We export a lot of things to the US.

“They export or bring in a lot of goods as well as services to us. So, for us, the United States being the biggest economic powerhouse in the world, we needed to reset the relationship,” he said.

Part of the talks included: stabilising and resetting South Africa’s bilateral relationship with the US, which he described as having grown “bumpy and strained.”

Ramaphosa said another pillar of the visit was building a structured process for economic dialogue, particularly around trade tariffs, investment, and the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

“This was to discuss how the tariff regime between our two countries can be calibrated, including AGOA, whether we should carry on with AGOA, whether we should stay in AGOA,” he said.

While no final agreements were reached, the visit was a strategic reset. Ramaphosa said what is important is the renewed commitment to engage.

This was not just a meeting—it was a moment to reframe SA-US relations for a new era, according to the president.