What to know about this weekend's G20 summit in South Africa that Trump is boycotting

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Leaders from the Group of 20 countries will meet for a summit in South Africa this weekend without any U.S. representatives after President Donald Trump announced a boycott over his widely rejected claims that the host country is persecuting its Afrikaner white minority.

Trump's decision to pull the United States — and himself — out of the talks in Johannesburg is likely to undermine the first G20 leaders' meeting in Africa, as well as South Africa's aim to push for progress on issues affecting poor countries, such as the impact of climate change, the cost of green energy transition and spiraling sovereign debt levels.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping also won't attend as he cuts back on international travel, meaning the heads of the world's two biggest economies will skip a meeting meant to bring developed and developing countries together to tackle pressing global issues.

The G20 is a group of 19 countries that includes the richest but also the top developing economies in the world. The European Union and the African Union, which joined in 2023, are also members, making it now a group of 21.

It was formed in 1999 and unlike the Group of Seven, which only includes the richest democracies, it offers some developing countries a forum to raise their problems.

Its focus is the global economy and international development, though it has no charter or permanent secretariat — unlike organizations such as the United Nations. It also doesn't issue binding decisions and critics say there's no meaningful mechanism for it to put words into action.

The G20 often struggles to reach real consensus because of the different interests of the big powers like the U.S., China and Russia, as well as those of Western European nations.

The leaders of the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund typically attend G20 summits as guests.

Trump has claimed that white Afrikaner farmers in South Africa are being killed and that their land is being seized, calling it a disgrace that South Africa is hosting the summit and saying it should be thrown out of the G20.

The South African government and others, including some Afrikaners themselves, have rejected Trump's claims of racial persecution as misinformation.

South Africa has been a target for Trump since he returned to office at the start of the year, with his administration casting the country as anti-American because of its diplomatic ties with China, Russia and Iran.

The U.S. will take over the rotating presidency of the G20 from South Africa and while the world's biggest economy will boycott the talks, a representative from the U.S. Embassy in South Africa will attend a formal handover ceremony at the end of the summit, a White House official said.

The country holding the G20 presidency gets to set the agenda for the annual summit.

South Africa wants climate change and disaster relief, financing green energy transition, easing debt levels for poor countries and addressing global inequality to be priorities for the two-day meeting.

It says climatic disasters such as drought, floods and cyclones are having a devastating effect on countries that cannot afford to rebuild and is calling for more help from the global community.

South Africa has proposed that G20 leaders set up an independent international panel on global wealth inequality, similar to the U.N.-appointed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

That followed a report commissioned by South Africa for the summit and led by Nobel Prize-winning American economist Joseph Stiglitz that concluded the world is facing an "inequality emergency."

G20 summits have traditionally attracted protests, and a counter summit was organized this week in another part of Johannesburg by groups critical of the G20 and what they called “a global economic system rigged in favor of elites and billionaires.”

The summit also is an opportunity for closed-door bilateral meetings. New trade deals are likely to figure in the discussions in the wake of the Trump administration's tariffs that have impacted the global economy.

Trump and Xi are the highest profile absentees, although China has sent a government delegation led by Premier Li Qiang.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also is not attending but Russia will be represented by a low-level delegation led by Maxim Oreshkin, deputy chief of staff of the Russian presidential executive office. Putin faces an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court over Russia’s war in Ukraine that obliges South Africa, a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the court, to arrest him if he sets foot on its territory.

Argentina's President Javier Milei is also to skip the summit in solidarity with his ally Trump.

“If you boycott an event or a process, you are the greatest loser because the show will go on,” Ramaphosa said of Trump's decision not to attend.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer say they will attend the summit.

Follow AP’s coverage of the G20 summit in South Africa: https://apnews.com/hub/g20-summit

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, centre, address the media with European Council's President Antonio Costa, left, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

FILE - White South Africans demonstrate in support of U.S. President Donald Trump in front of the U.S. embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

Workers fix a road in Johannesburg's Soweto township as a massive cleanup job gets underway in anticipation of the upcoming G20 summit to be held in the South African economic capital, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Banners of various G20 leaders are displayed along a Johannesburg freeway, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

FILE - President Donald Trump meets South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — Iraq overcame major logistical issues to become the 48th and final team to secure a spot at the 2026 World Cup with a 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff Tuesday, ending a wait of four decades to return to soccer's marquee global event.

Ali Almahadi opened the scoring in the 18th minute, Moises Paniagua tied it for Bolivia in the 38th and Aymen Hussein scored the clincher in the 53rd minute for Iraq. The Iraq team will join Group I along with France, Norway and Senegal.

“We have nothing to lose, let’s try to shock the world with a crazy result and performance. It is great that we qualified,” Iraq coach Graham Arnold said. “It is a privilege for us."

Arnold, who guided Australia at the 2022 World Cup, said he didn't think his Iraqi players had faced the likes of France star Kylian Mbappe or Norway's Erling Haaland.

"It will be an honor. We respect those players and what they do, but we will try to win.”

Iraq will be back at the World Cup for the first time since Mexico 1986, kicking off June 16 against Norway at Foxborough, followed by games against France on June 22 at Philadelphia and Senegal at Toronto on June 26.

Bolivia missed out on qualifying for its second World Cup.

“What remains is pain and frustration; we feel devastated by the result," Bolivia coach Oscar Villegas said. “These young men lost with honor on the field and gave everything to achieve the result, but unfortunately, the country missed out on the World Cup.”

The match was played in front of 49,286 fans at the BBVA stadium in Monterrey, one of three host cities in Mexico for the World Cup.

“I’ve got to give full credit to the players — their fighting spirit was unreal,” Arnold said in comments posted on fifa.com. "They put their body on the line, and 46 million people are proud.”

Earlier this month, Iraq faced uncertainty about even been able to contest the playoffs. The war in Iran resulted in Iraqi players being stranded because their country’s airspace was closed, preventing the team from using commercial flights to leave. Team officials officially asked FIFA to postpone the playoff match.

“Everything that is going on in the Middle East made it a little bit harder but the main thing I said, and I worked very hard on, was their mentality,” Graham said. “I banned social media since the day we got here. I did not want them to think of what is going on in the Middle East because they had to focus on the job we had here.”

The team also faced visa complications because Mexico does not have an embassy in Iraq and players struggled to obtain visas. But the issue was resolved when the Mexico's foreign affairs ministry facilitated visas at other regional embassies.

The team finally arrived in Monterrey on March 21 after a 25-hour journey that included navigating travel restrictions and a stopover in Portugal.

Congo scored in extra time to edge Jamaica 1-0 earlier Tuesday to become the 47th of 48 teams that will play at the World Cup.

Axel Tuanzebe scored following a corner kick in the 100th minute. The Jamaican defenders failed to clear the ball and Tuanzebe, who plays for Burnley in the English Premier League tapped it into the net.

Congo has never played in a World Cup under that name, although it participated in the 1974 edition in Germany as Zaire.

With its victory in the intercontinental playoff at the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Congo completed Group K at the World Cup, where it will face Colombia, Portugal, and Uzbekistan.

“We’re going to enjoy the qualification, but we’ll keep working. We know we’ll be facing top nations who play in the World Cup every four years," Congo captain Chancel Mbemba said. "We’ll stay humble, keep our feet on the ground, and continue to work. We’ll give everything to make our supporters and our people proud.”

The Jamaica team, known as the Reggae Boyz, missed out on what would have been a second World Cup appearance.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Iraq's Aymen Hussein celebrates scoring his side's 2nd goal during the World Cup playoff final soccer match between Iraq and Bolivia in Monterrey, Mexico, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Iraq's Ali Al-Hamadi, right, celebrates scoring his side's opening goal during the World Cup playoff final soccer match between Iraq and Bolivia in Monterrey, Mexico, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Iraq's Aymen Hussein, left, is congratulated after scoring his side's 2nd goal during the World Cup playoff final soccer match between Iraq and Bolivia in Monterrey, Mexico, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

DR Congo's players celebrate at the end of the World Cup playoff final soccer match between DR Congo and Jamaica in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

DR Congo's players celebrate at the end of the World Cup playoff final soccer match between DR Congo and Jamaica in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)