A meeting of foreign ministers from G20 countries has gathered in Johannesburg on Thursday, 20 February 2025, with President Cyril Ramaphosa officially opening and addressing the gathering. The event, hosted by South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, will be held under the theme “Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability” at the Nasrec Expo Centre on 20 and 21 February 2025. However, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not attend amid ongoing diplomatic tensions between South Africa and the United States.
Key attendees include Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, while the U.S. will be represented by acting ambassador to South Africa, Dana Brown. The European Union, the United Nations, and the African Union, which is part of the G20, will also participate in the meeting.
Rubio’s absence follows an executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump that halted foreign aid to South Africa over a law the White House claims discriminates against the country’s white minority. The U.S. is also displeased with South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola clarified that Rubio’s decision does not constitute a full boycott of South Africa’s G20 involvement, emphasizing that the U.S. will still be represented in Johannesburg in some form.
Similarly, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent has confirmed he will not attend a G20 finance ministers’ meeting scheduled in South Africa next week, citing obligations in Washington. A senior Treasury official will attend in his place.
Analysts view the absence of both Rubio and Bessent as a sign of the U.S. pulling back from the G20, reflecting strained relations between the two countries. Political analyst Daniel Bradlow noted that the treasury secretary’s decision to skip the upcoming meeting would send a strong message about the U.S. administration’s stance.
South Africa’s G20 Presidency began in December 2024, and the country will host approximately 130 working group meetings and 23 ministerial-level meetings throughout 2025. These discussions will culminate in a G20 Leaders’ Summit in November 2025. The Foreign Ministers’ Meeting will feature two days of plenary sessions addressing current global geopolitical dynamics, South Africa’s G20 Presidency High-Level Deliverables, and a review of the G20@20, which examines the group’s impact over its two decades of existence.
Since its inception in 2008, the G20 has evolved from a crisis-management platform to a broader forum addressing issues such as financial stability, climate change, sustainable development, and global health. During its presidency, South Africa is prioritizing Africa’s development and the goals outlined in the African Union Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. The country’s three key priorities for the G20 Presidency are:
- Inclusive Economic Growth, Industrialization, Employment, and Reducing Inequality
- Food Security
- Artificial Intelligence, Data Governance, and Innovation for Sustainable Development
President Ramaphosa will address the Opening Session of the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting as follows:
Date: Thursday, 20 February 2025
Time: 14h00
Venue: Nasrec EXPO Centre, Johannesburg