Will PM Modi take up South Africa’s cause with ‘good friend’ Trump, asks Congress

With U.S. President Donald Trump announcing that he is barring South Africa from participating in next year’s Group of 20 (G20) summit in Miami, the Congress on Friday (November 28, 2025 ) said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the “self-proclaimed champion” of both Africa and the Global South and asked whether he will take up South Africa’s cause with his “good friend”.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (November 26, 2025) that he is barring South Africa from participating in the Group of 20 summit next year in Miami and will “stop all payments and subsidies” to the country over its treatment of a U.S. government representative at this year’s global meeting.

Reacting to the development, Congress General Secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said South Africa has been in the G20 from the very beginning simply because it is the largest economy measured by size of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the African continent.

“It is not there because the U.S. is doing it some favour. It was very much present at the very first G20 Summit held in Washington DC that was chaired by President George Washington Bush and has been a valued presence in all subsequent G20 Summits,” General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said on X.

Noting that South Africa and India share a special relationship, the Congress leader said they are part of the original BRICS group also involving Brazil, Russia, and China.

They are also part of IBSA along with Brazil and of BASIC as well along with Brazil and China, General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said.

“It has often been remarked that an Indian lawyer went to South Africa in the late 19th century and returned home as a revolutionary in the early years of the 20th century to lead India’s independence movement,” General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, referring to Mahatma Gandhi.

India was in the forefront in the global campaign against apartheid in South Africa for decades and fought hard for its decolonisation, General Secretary Jairam Ramesh pointed out and added Nelson Mandela is an iconic figure to Indians as well.

“The Prime Minister is the self-proclaimed champion of both Africa and the Global South. Will he take up South Africa’s cause with his good friend and ensure that it will get to attend the next G20 Summit — as it is perfectly entitled to?” General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said.

President Donald Trump chose not to have an American delegation attend the recent summit hosted by South Africa, saying he did so because white Afrikaners were being violently persecuted — a claim that South Africa rejected as baseless.

U.S President Donald Trump, in a social media post, said South Africa had refused to hand over its G20 hosting responsibilities to a senior representative of the U.S. Embassy when the summit ended over the weekend.

“Therefore, at my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20 summit, which will be hosted in the Great City of Miami, Florida next year,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

“South Africa has demonstrated to the World they are not a country worthy of Membership anywhere”, President Donald Trump said, adding, “and we are going to stop all payments and subsidies to them, effective immediately”.