South Africa: France Rescinds South Africa's G7 Summit Invitation

GovernmentZA / Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)
President Cyril Ramaphosa.
27 March 2026
allAfrica.com

South Africa has said that it had been excluded from the upcoming G7 summit in France after initially being invited.

The presidency first claimed the decision followed pressure from the United States, but President Cyril Ramaphosa later said there had been no such pressure.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that his country had "not yielded to any pressure" but had opted for a "streamlined G7," inviting Kenya instead to help prepare France's major Africa summit in Nairobi in May.

The United States also denied requesting South Africa's exclusion.

The development came amid strained relations between Washington and Pretoria over issues including trade tariffs, South Africa's case against Israel, and criticism of its domestic policies.

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