JOHANNESBURG - South Africa has been left off the invitation list for the first major G20 meeting under the US presidency.
It's the latest move in the ongoing tension between the countries.
The US has invited every G20 member except South Africa to this month's Sherpas' meeting in Washington.
The snub reaffirms President Donald Trump's decision to freeze South Africa out of the 2026 Leaders' Summit in Miami.
Kesaobaka Nancy Mopipi, G20 Researcher with the Economic Resilience and Inclusion Programme at SAIIA, said this sets a very dangerous precedent.
"We've never had a situation like this before in the G20 where a host country on the basis on disagreements or having political issues with one member decides to then unilaterally disinvite them," she said.
Mopipi said she thinks it's in the best interest of the G20 members to engage the US presidency and register their concerns around this decision.
"We've already heard from Germany of registering concerns around South Africa not being invited.
"I think it would be imperative for the G20 members to really engage with President Trump and the US administration to defend the credibility and integrity of the G20 process," she said.