Washington, December 4 — The United States on Thursday unveiled plans for a reconfigured “New G20” as it prepares to host the 2026 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Miami, Florida. In a blog post titled America Welcomes a New G20, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US will expand participation to include Poland while excluding South Africa from the grouping for the summit period.
Rubio said the 2026 New G20 will focus on three core priorities: reducing regulatory burdens, securing affordable and resilient energy supply chains, and advancing emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. These priorities will be organized into four working groups designed to tackle regulatory barriers, energy security, and technological innovation. Rubio added that, in his view, the global economy is being reshaped by technologies such as AI and requires attention beyond what he described as ideological debates over green energy. He also said the working groups will operate under the leadership of President Trump.
The United States will host the G20 for the first time since 2009, and the Miami summit will coincide with America’s 250th anniversary. Rubio said initial Sherpa and Finance Track meetings are scheduled for December 15 and 16 in Washington, with further sessions planned through the coming year. The US also said it intends to invite additional “friends, neighbors, and partners,” highlighting Poland as a post-Cold War success story and an example of a country whose partnership with the United States and American businesses has driven mutual economic gains.
The most prominent change in the US plan is the exclusion of South Africa. Rubio sharply criticized South Africa’s current government and its recent G20 presidency, asserting that post-apartheid potential was undermined by redistributionist policies and racial quotas that he said discouraged investment and harmed the private sector. He invoked Nelson Mandela’s vision of reconciliation and market-driven growth, arguing subsequent leaders had moved away from that approach, leading to talent flight, corruption, and economic stagnation. Rubio said South Africa now “falls firmly outside the group of the 20 largest industrialised economies.”
Rubio also accused the ruling African National Congress-led government of scapegoating citizens and the United States, tolerating violence against Afrikaner farmers, aligning with countries hostile to US interests, and prioritizing topics such as climate change, diversity and inclusion, and aid dependency during its G20 presidency. He alleged South Africa blocked negotiations and released personal information about American officials. For these reasons, he wrote, the US will not invite the South African government to participate in the G20 during its presidency, while saying a path to re-engagement would remain open if Pretoria undertakes significant reforms.
The move follows earlier criticism from former President Trump and from current US officials of South Africa’s human rights record. The Biden administration also did not attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg. Trump posted that the US skipped the summit because, he alleged, the South African government refused to address abuses against Afrikaners and other descendants of European settlers—claims that have been widely contested.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called the US decision regrettable and said his government had sought to reset relations. He accused the US of taking punitive steps based on misinformation and distortion. The US announcement signals a shift in how Washington intends to shape the 2026 summit and whom it considers partners in that effort.
