Rubio, the senior US diplomat, will not travel to South Africa for the G20 conference

Days after President Donald Trump threatened to stop supporting the African nation, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday that he will not be attending an upcoming G20 summit in South Africa.

The G20 group’s foreign ministers will gather in Johannesburg, South Africa, from February 20–21. From December 2024 to November 2025, South Africa will serve as the G20’s president.

WHY IT IS ESSENTIAL

Trump said on Sunday that “certain classes of people” were being treated “very badly” and that “South Africa is confiscating land” without providing any supporting evidence. He threatened to stop financing until the issue was looked into.
Following Trump’s warning, President Cyril Ramaphosa defended South Africa’s land policy, stating that it was intended to provide fair public access to land and that no land had been seized.

ESSENTIAL WORDS

“South Africa is acting in a very negative manner. taking private property away. advancing sustainability, equality, and solidarity through the G20. In other words, without providing specifics, Rubio stated in his post on X: DEI and climate change.

In reaction to Rubio’s statement, the foreign ministry of South Africa stated that “private property and land are not arbitrarily taken away.” Eminent domain laws and this law are comparable.

A run of exceptionally high global temperatures continued last month, with January being the highest on record.

OVERVIEW

Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with South Africa’s land policy. Elon Musk, a billionaire who was born in South Africa and is close to Trump, also accused the country of having “openly racist ownership laws” without providing any proof, implying that white people were the victims.

Due to the legacy of the colonial and apartheid eras, when Black people were deprived of their lands and denied property rights, the issue of land ownership is extremely contentious in South Africa.

Three-quarters of South Africa’s freehold farmland is still owned by white people. According to the most recent 2017 land audit, 4% of the land is owned by Black people, who comprise 80% of the population, whereas 8% is owned by white people.

Ramaphosa passed a law last month that permits the state to expropriate land “in the public interest” in part to address this disparity.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives throughout the U.S. government have been targeted for dismantling by the Trump administration. Rights organizations claim that DEI initiatives aid in addressing the injustices that underprivileged people must contend with. Trump accuses DEI of being anti-merit.