Johannesburg: The G20 leaders' summit opened on Saturday in Johannesburg, South Africa, with President Cyril Ramaphosa delivering the first address as delegates gathered for two days of talks.
According to Anadolu Agency, Ramaphosa told leaders that South Africa had used its G20 presidency, overseeing about 130 meetings at home and abroad, to uphold the forum's integrity as it broadened from macroeconomic policy to a wide agenda spanning trade, development, health, energy, climate, and other global challenges.
In line with South Africa's G20 theme of 'solidarity, equality and sustainability,' the first G20 summit ever held on the African continent under Pretoria's presidency is expected to focus on debt relief for low-income countries, a major barrier to inclusive growth across the developing world. The South African leader emphasized that solidarity is key to creating an inclusive future for those most at risk, noting that in an interconnected world, the challenges of one country inevitably affect all others.
Ramaphosa further stated that promoting equality is crucial to ensuring fair treatment and equal opportunities for individuals and nations globally. He warned that persistent disparities in wealth and development remain unjust, unsustainable, and a major obstacle to global progress. Breaking down divisions of economic status, gender, race, and geography was highlighted as essential.
As a founding G20 member, South Africa has worked to ensure that the development priorities of Africa and the global South are 'firmly and permanently' reflected on the G20 agenda. Ramaphosa noted the importance of this goal for global stability and security, alleviating resource pressures, managing population movements, and reducing the risk of conflict. Stability, he said, attracts investment, and thriving economies generate the resources needed to address today's threats, including geopolitical tensions, climate change, pandemics, energy and food insecurity, inequality, and unemployment.
The summit will also focus on climate adaptation and the shift to clean energy, among other priorities. The agenda includes discussions on internal cooperation and the bloc's strategic direction, while leaders are set to hold a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the two-day gathering.
Ramaphosa outlined South Africa's G20 presidency's four high-level priorities: strengthening disaster resilience for countries unable to bear recovery costs, ensuring debt sustainability for low-income nations with a focus on the most vulnerable, mobilizing finance for a just energy transition and increasing climate finance for developing economies, and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth through local beneficiation.
South Africa's Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola announced that 42 countries are expected to participate in the historic G20 summit. However, the US, a founding member of the G20, has boycotted this year's summit. Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump announced that he would not send an American official to Johannesburg for the meeting, accusing South Africa of 'human rights abuses' against the white Afrikaner population-claims the South African government has repeatedly rejected as unfounded. Relations between Washington and Pretoria have plunged to their lowest this year over disagreements on both foreign and domestic policies.
Ramaphosa urged that nothing should diminish the value, stature, and impact of the first African G20 presidency, asserting that the summit has a responsibility to maintain the integrity and credibility of the G20. Established in 1999, the G20 comprises 19 countries and two regional bodies-the EU and the African Union.