South Africa will use its presidency of the G20, the first by an African nation, to put the priorities of the African continent onto the agenda of the powerful global economic forum, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Tuesday.
South Africa took over the rotating presidency of the grouping of the world’s biggest economies on December 1 and will host its summit in November before handing over to the United States.
It is a “great moment for our continent” as well as for developing countries known as the Global South, Ramaphosa said at a briefing to launch the presidency.
“We will use this moment to bring development priorities of the African continent and more broadly, the Global South, more firmly onto the agenda of the G20,” he said.
South Africa wants its presidency “to have African flavour in substance, in issues that will be tackled, development issues” and to put forward the continent’s perspectives, he said.
The G20’s members — 19 sovereign nations and two regional groupings, the African Union (AU) and European Union — account for 85 percent of global GDP and three-quarters of global trade.
Until the AU was admitted in 2023, South Africa was the “lone African voice for the longest time”, Ramaphosa said.
– ‘Neglected continent’-
More African countries, notably Nigeria — the continent’s other big economic powerhouse alongside South Africa — need to be included “so that we can raise the voice from Africa, the neglected continent”.
“We have a voice, we have a presence, and we are going to be the biggest growth story in years to come. And our population is going to grow by leaps and bounds.
“And therefore, as a continent, we are going to be a big noise. And we want that big noise to be recognised in the form of countries that will become part of the G20 right now,” Ramaphosa said.
South Africa’s priorities for its presidency are to strengthen disaster resilience in the face of climate change, mobilise finance for the move towards greener energy and tackle unsustainable levels of debt hobbling low-income countries, many of them African.
“We will use this G20 to champion the use of critical minerals as an engine of growth and for the development of our continent, as our continent is rich and richly endowed with these critical minerals,” he said.
Special task forces will focus on inclusive growth to reduce inequality, food security and sustainable development.
South Africa’s is the last in a series of G20 presidencies led by a developing country, with the United States under incoming president Donald Trump the next in line.
Asked if he was concerned about handing over to Trump’s government, Ramaphosa said: “I think there will be sufficient shock absorbers that will be put in place to enable the G20 to continue to function in a way that will advance the interests of the world.”
AFP
