Chancelers Meeting in Johannesburg takes place in February; decision comes after Trump criticizes the country’s land policy
The US Secretary of State, announced on Wednesday (05.FEV.2025) that he will not be present at the next G20 meeting in South Africa. The decision happens after President Donald Trump’s controversial statements, which threatened to cut funding for The African country. Trump accused, without providing evidence, South Africa of confiscating land and unfairly treating “Certain classes of people”.
The G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting is scheduled to take place from February 20 to 21 in Johannesburg during the group’s South African presidency, from December 2024 to November 2025.
In response to Trump’s accusations, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa defended the country’s land policies. He stated that the government did not confiscate land and that policies aim to ensure equitable access to land to the public.
The issue of land possession in South Africa is a highly politicized theme, remnant of colonial ages and apartheid, periods in which blacks were expropriated from their land and deprived of property rights.
Currently, white owners have about 3/4 of free -owned agricultural land in the country, while blacks, representing 80% of the population, have only 4%. Ramaphosa, last month, promulgated a law that allows the state to expropriate land “In the public interest”seeking to correct this historical imbalance.
