The United States has asked to participate in the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg this weekend, South Africa’s president said on Thursday, a shift from President Trump’s earlier stance that America had planned to boycott the gathering.
South Africa, the host of this year’s G20, received a notice from the United States “about a change of mind about participating in one shape, form or other in the summit,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said during a news conference.
But a senior Trump administration official who spoke on background said that U.S. participation this weekend would be purely ceremonial and that plans to send the acting ambassador in South Africa, Marc D. Dillard, were a formality.
The United States will host the G20 next year. Mr. Dillard will attend a formal handover ceremony at the end of the summit on Sunday but is not expected to participate in any high-level discussions.
Mr. Ramaphosa still said it was a positive development. “The United States, being the biggest economy in the world, needs to be here,” he said. “So it’s pleasing to hear that there is a change of approach.”
Earlier this month, Mr. Trump said that no U.S. official would attend the meeting in Johannesburg, citing false accusations that white South Africans were being murdered en masse.
The G20 brings together leaders of the world’s largest economies to tackle some of the most pressing global issues. Mr. Trump said earlier this month that Vice President JD Vance would attend before changing his mind.
This year’s summit is the first to be held in Africa. As host, South Africa has focused on an agenda that elevates the interests of the continent and the developing world.
Dozens of meetings on a variety of topics, including climate change and debt sustainability, have been held in the lead up to this weekend. The United States has skipped many of the meetings, according to people who participated. In cases where U.S. officials did attend, they often refused to negotiate, preventing countries from issuing joint declarations. (All declarations require unanimous agreement.)
South African officials have said they plan to forge ahead with a consensus declaration at the end of the summit this weekend, despite the United States’ objection on the grounds that it will not be participating in the negotiations.
Mr. Trump has said the next G20 summit will be held in Florida next year. American officials have indicated that they plan to streamline the agenda to include fewer discussion topics.
