Germany has thrown its commercial and diplomatic weight behind South Africa’s bid to attend the 2026 Group of 20 summit in Miami, an intervention with clear implications for investors watching how trade and economic ties across the Atlantic hold up under political strain. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called on US President Donald Trump to reverse Washington’s decision to exclude Pretoria from the December gathering, arguing that the country’s membership of the G20 and Africa’s representation in global economic decision-making must be respected.
Speaking at the Berlin Global Dialogue conference on Wednesday, Merz put the case in blunt terms. “Africa belongs at the table,” he said, according to Bloomberg. “The African Union is a member of the G20, and so is South Africa. That’s why I urge that South Africa be represented at the G20 summit.”
For market watchers, the stakes extend beyond protocol. The G20 shapes the agenda on trade, finance and development economics, and exclusion from the Miami summit would leave Africa’s largest industrial economy without a seat where those priorities are set. Merz’s appeal reinforces Berlin’s position that South Africa should retain its place in international decision-making forums, though it remains unclear whether Washington will change course before December.
The dispute traces back to an announcement Trump made last year that South Africa would not be invited to the gathering, citing allegations of persecution of the country’s white minority, as reported by Reuters. The South African government has rejected those allegations. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office previously described them as “misinformation and distortions about our country”.
The exclusion decision sits within a longer pattern of friction between Washington and Pretoria over South Africa’s domestic policies and foreign relations, friction that carries real economic consequences. The United States boycotted the 2025 G20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg before assuming the group’s presidency in December that year, an unusual rupture in a forum built on consensus among the world’s largest economies.
Concerns about the broader trajectory of US-South Africa relations have mounted. In September, Reuters reported that Pretoria had criticised new US visa restrictions, saying Washington was misrepresenting its domestic policies. South Africa maintained that it had the sovereign right to address historical racial inequalities through its own laws, a position that touches directly on the policy environment in which foreign investors and trading partners operate.
Germany’s backing is notable for its economic foundation. The two countries agreed in April to upgrade their relationship to a strategic partnership, expanding cooperation in areas including energy, trade, critical minerals and international security, according to Germany’s Federal Foreign Office. That agenda gives Berlin a direct commercial interest in keeping Pretoria integrated within the multilateral economic architecture rather than isolated from it.
Critical minerals, in particular, sit at the centre of global supply-chain competition, and South Africa’s role as a producer makes its standing in international forums a matter of practical concern for the companies and governments that depend on stable trade relationships. The strategic partnership signals that Berlin views South Africa as a long-term economic partner, and Merz’s latest appeal is consistent with that positioning.
Whether the lobbying succeeds is an open question. The decision on invitations rests with Washington, which holds the G20 presidency, and the White House has given no indication of a reversal ahead of the Miami summit. What is clear is that a major European economy and trading partner has now publicly staked out its position, adding diplomatic and economic pressure at a moment when the rules of engagement between the United States and one of Africa’s key markets remain unsettled. For investors and operators with exposure to the region, the outcome will help signal how reliably multilateral economic forums continue to function as venues where emerging-market partners hold a seat.