Trump backtracked on his decision not to attend the G20 events after a bilateral meeting with southafrican resident Cyril Ramaphosa in which the two leaders discussed a range of trade and investment issues.

   In April, Trump took to his Truth Social platform, claiming that South Africa was confiscating land and committing genocide. “How could we be expected to go to South Africa for the very important G20 meeting when land confiscation and genocide are the primary topics of conversation?, he asked.

   “They are taking the land of white farmers and then killing them and their families. The media refuses to report on this. The US has held back all contributions to South Africa. Is this where we want to be for the G20? I don’t think so,” Trump said.

   However, after Ramaphosa serenaded Trump during their much-anticipated recent meeting at the Oval Office in the White House, the US president changed his mind.

   Writing in his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa said one of the key outcomes of the “substantive discussions” he and his delegation had with Trump was agreeing on an “economic cooperation channel between the US administration and South Africa to engage further on tariffs and a broad range of trade matters”.

   “President Trump agreed that the US should continue playing a key role in the G20, including attending the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg later this year, where South Africa will hand over the presidency of the G20 to the US.”

   Ramaphosa said they also discussed exploring new opportunities for companies from South Africa and the US in each other’s markets.

   “We were able to update US officials on the ongoing structural reform process underway to improve the ease of doing business and facilitate a favourable investment climate.”

   Earlier, Ramaphosa said his recent visit to the US to meet with Trump came at a time when relations between the two countries were under “increasing strain”, mainly due to disinformation.

   Ramaphosa said he and his delegation went to Washington to meet with Trump to establish a “basis for greater economic cooperation and to address some of the challenges” that have recently arisen in relations between the two countries.

   “Our visit came at a time when US-SA relations have come under increasing strain, largely as a result of misinformation peddled by fringe groups in our two countries, including a false narrative about a so-called genocide and an orchestrated campaign of violence against white farmers.”

   Trump proved to be a political rottweiler for Afrikaners and white farmers and shifted the focus from what began as a cordial discussion with Ramaphosa, veering sharply off course to farm attacks and white genocide in South Africa, ambushing the president.

   Ramaphosa said in this context, it was critical for Pretoria to engage directly with the US administration to correct misinformation and provide a true account of the progress “we have made as a democracy and the many and complex challenges we still face”.