- Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, discussed South Africa’s exclusion from the upcoming G7 Summit
- French President Emmanuel Macron personally invited President Cyril Ramaphosa, but the invite was retracted on 26 March 2026
- The United States of America denied that it pressured France into disinviting South Africa over ongoing tensions between the two nations
Source: Getty Images
Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.
GAUTENG – Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has said it’s no secret that the United States of America pressured France to revoke South Africa’s invitation to this year’s Group of 7 nations’ meetings in June.
Emmanuel Macron personally extended an invitation to President Cyril Ramaphosa for the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, but that invitation has since been retracted.
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On Thursday, 26 March 2026, Presidency Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said that South Africa had been excluded following sustained pressure from the United States, a claim France, the US, and Ramaphosa dismissed.
Ntshavheni discusses South Africa’s exclusion
Speaking to the media on Thursday, 2 April 2026, about the outcomes of a recent cabinet meeting, Ntshavheni discussed France’s decision to retract the invitation. France explained that it would be inviting Kenya instead, in preparation for President Macron’s visit to the African nation for the France-Africa summit in Nairobi in May 2026.
Despite French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot saying that they did ‘not yield to any pressure’, Ntshavheni said it was a matter of record that the US has forced France’s hand.
She stated that despite this, the US could not discount South Africa completely, as it remained a strategic partners.
“We remain a very strategic partner of the US. We are unavoidable to each other. We cannot wish each other away.
“We must co-exist, and that’s why we continue to engage with the US as a valued partner,” she said.
Source: Getty Images
South Africa retains strong bonds with France
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The Minister in the Presidency also noted that despite France’s uninviting South Africa to the upcoming summit, the two countries retained strong bonds.
Ntshavheni also added that France has been trying to convince the US to allow South Africa to participate in G20 meetings in Miami later this year.
The US announced that South Africa would not be invited, despite being a G20 member and the former host of the summit. The decision was made following Donald Trump’s repeated claims that terrible things were happening in South Africa.
Trump has claimed that white Afrikaners were being persecuted in the country, alleging that they were being murdered and their farms were being taken away from them by the government.
US denies South African delegation accreditation to G20 Summit
Briefly News reported in December 2025 that the US denied a South African delegation accreditation to the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in Miami.
The summit will be hosted in Miami, Florida, in 2026, but the Donald Trump administration decided not to have South Africa present.
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South Africa hosted the global event successfully in 2025, before handing over the presidency to the US.
Source: Briefly News
