France announced earlier that it will host the leaders of India, South Korea, Brazil and Kenya at the summit to be held in Evian-les-Bains. SA, a regular guest at past G7 summits, said the French embassy in Pretoria had communicated the decision to the government about two weeks ago, saying the United States (US) had threatened to boycott the summit if SA was invited.
“We’ve accepted the French decision and appreciate the pressure they’ve been subjected to,” said Vincent Magwenya, a Spokesperson for SA President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Asked at a briefing whether SA had been excluded on the US’s request, a French official said this was not the case and that France had decided to invite Kenya this time. Macron is due to visit Kenya in May for a two-day Africa-France summit.
A White House official backed France’s account, saying the decision to invite Kenya came after talks among G7 members, without commenting directly on the exclusion of SA. G7 leaders often invite multiple countries as guests.
“The French, in their capacity as 2026 G7 host, expressed a desire in January to invite an African nation to the June G7 leaders’ summit in Evian. After discussion among G7 members, it was collectively determined that Kenya should be invited to the summit. The US welcomes Kenya’s participation,” the White House official said.
US President Donald Trump has criticised SA’s foreign policy and domestic race laws during his second term, boycotted last year’s G20 summit in Johannesburg and excluded SA from G20 meetings this year.
–Reuters–
