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

Prime minister He is heading to the G20 meeting of world leaders in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The summit brings together the 20 largest economies, but Donald Trump decided not to attend due to widely denied allegations that white people are being persecuted in the country.

Sir Keir Starmer, whose critics have described him as a “never here Keir” due to the frequency of his international trips, will highlight the benefits of a prime minister acting as an ambassador for Britain’s businesses abroad.

Sir Keir will visit a depot in Johannesburg to see trains being built in Derby and announce a new agreement under which the UK will “provide strategic advice and consultancy services” to South African railways.

The work will be carried out by an organization called Crossrail International, which belongs to the British government.

An agreement was also signed to provide similar services in Vietnam.

Downing Street argues that Africa offers what it calls “unique future opportunities for UK businesses”, given that half of Africans are under 20 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 should seize the opportunity to strike more deals “face-to-face”.

“I will focus on the agreements we can make with our partner countries, the work we can do, and ensure that the work we do internationally directly affects my country,” he told reporters on a flight to South Africa.

“If you want to tackle the cost of living and ensure people are better off with good, secure jobs, investment from G20 partners and allies is really important,” he added.

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

“As long as these human rights violations continue, no U.S. government official will participate,” he added.

White South Africans have been offered refugee status in the US by the Trump administration and now have priority over ethnic groups.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the US’s absence from the G20 was “their loss” and added that “the boycott policy is not working”.

None of the political parties in South Africa, including those representing Afrikaners and the white community in general, have claimed that there was genocide in South Africa.

Ramaphosa’s government said allegations of white genocide were “generally discredited and unsupported by credible evidence”.