Starmer defends G20 trip to South Africa despite Trump’s absence

the prime minister travels to the G20 world leaders meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The summit brings together the 20 largest economies, although Donald Trump has decided not to attend over widely debunked accusations that white people are being persecuted in the country.

Sir Keir Starmer, whose critics label him “Keir never here” due to the frequency of his international travel, will emphasize the benefits of a prime minister who acts as an ambassador for UK businesses abroad.

Sir Keir will visit a Johannesburg depot to see trains being built in Derby and announce a new deal that will see the UK “provide strategic advisory and consultancy services” to South Africa’s railways.

An organization called Crossrail International, owned by the UK government, will carry out the work.

It also signed an agreement with Vietnam to provide similar services there.

Downing Street maintains that Africa offers what it calls “unparalleled future opportunities for UK businesses”, given that half of Africans are under 20 years old and more than a quarter of the world’s population will live in Africa by 2050.

Asked about the impact of Trump’s decision to boycott the summit, Sir Keir said he needed to take the opportunity to reach agreements “face to face”.

“I will focus on the deals we can make, the businesses we can do, with our partner countries and make sure that the work we do internationally has a direct impact at home,” he told reporters on the flight to South Africa.

“If you want to address the cost of living and improve people’s situation with good, secure jobs, investment from G20 partners and allies is really important,” he added.

Trump will skip the summit, after declaring it a “total disgrace” in a social media post and repeating his claim that white Afrikaners are being persecuted in South Africa.

“No US government officials will attend while these human rights abuses continue,” he added.

The Trump administration has offered white South Africans refugee status in the United States, and they currently have priority over ethnic groups.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the United States’ absence from the G20 was “their loss,” adding that “the boycott policy does not work.”

None of South Africa’s political parties – including those representing Afrikaners and the wider white community – have claimed that there is a genocide in South Africa.

Ramaphosa’s government has said allegations of white genocide are “widely discredited and not supported by reliable evidence”.