President Donald Trump assumed leadership of the Group of 20 (G20) on Dec. 1, taking the reins from South Africa and promising to take the coalition back to its roots.

During its 12-month presidency of the group, the United States plans to focus on driving economic growth and prosperity, according to the U.S. State Department.

“As we usher in these much-needed reforms, we will prioritize three core themes: unleashing economic prosperity by limiting regulatory burdens, unlocking affordable and secure energy supply chains, and pioneering new technologies and innovations,” the State Department stated on Dec. 1.

The next G20 Leaders’ Summit will be held in Miami next year during the United States’ 250th anniversary.

The G20—a forum for the world’s largest economies—meets yearly to discuss global economic issues and confront urgent political and security challenges. The coalition was created in 1999 after an Asian financial crisis as a forum for finance ministers and central bank governors from the major developed and emerging economies to discuss global financial issues.

This year’s summit, held on Nov. 22–23 in Johannesburg, was the 20th meeting of the G20 and the first to take place on the African continent.

Trump boycotted the meeting, writing in a social media post that the United States did not attend because the South African government was “killing white people” and refused to acknowledge or address “the horrific Human Right Abuses endured by Afrikaners, and other descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers.”

Trump said he planned to disinvite South Africa from participating in the summit next year.

“At the conclusion of the G20, South Africa refused to hand off the G20 Presidency to a Senior Representative from our U.S. Embassy, who attended the Closing Ceremony,” Trump wrote in a Nov. 26 post on Truth Social.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who just ended a 12-month presidency of G20, refuted Trump’s claim, saying the instruments were handed over to a U.S. Embassy official after the summit. His spokesman, however, said that handing the instruments over to a junior U.S. Embassy official was a breach of protocol that wouldn’t be accommodated.

Ramaphosa also pushed back against Trump’s announcement, saying his country plans to “continue to participate as a full, active, and constructive member of the G20.”

The group comprises 19 countries, the European Union, and the African Union. The member countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

People walk by a large screen showing South African President Cyril Ramaphosa holding a wooden gavel as he officially closes the G20 leaders' summit, in Johannesburg on Nov. 23, 2025. (Jerome Delay/AP Photo)

Spain has been a permanent guest since 2008, and several other countries have been invited to summits over the years.

The international organizations that regularly participate are the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.