US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced that he will not be present at the upcoming G20 summit in Johannesburg, citing concerns over South Africa’s policies on equality, including its approach to expropriating private property. Rubio criticized the country for using its G20 presidency to promote “solidarity, equality, & sustainability” and cast aspersions on its land reforms, echoing President Trump’s recent land policy criticisms. In response, South Africa’s foreign ministry defended the expropriation legislation, which it claims is comparable to eminent domain laws in other parts of the world. It also reiterated Pretoria’s commitment to addressing global inequality, particularly for nations in the Global South. The move risks further straining already delicate US-South Africa relations, with some US lawmakers questioning the trade ties between the two countries amid Pretoria’s increasingly close relations with China and its refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Source: Bloomberg