Johannesburg (AFP) – South Africa will host the G20 summit this weekend, aiming to secure commitments on debt relief for developing countries and to tackle global inequalities as the United States boycotts the event. US President Donald Trump, who has clashed with South Africa over its G20 agenda, is skipping the summit amid a wider US retreat from multilateralism that has rattled global order. President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters ahead of the November 22-23 event that the US absence is “their loss.”
The United States is the most powerful of the 19 countries in the G20, which represents 85 percent of global GDP and about two-thirds of the world’s population, and also includes the European Union and the African Union. The US boycott echoes Trump’s decision not to send an official delegation to the COP30 summit in Brazil. The Republican leader has also withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, an international treaty to limit global warming and has imposed unilateral tariffs on a host of trading partners. South Africa, in particular, has been slapped with a 30 percent tariff from the United States. Trump has also singled out the sub-Saharan nation over a number of issues since he returned to the White House in January, notably claiming falsely that white Afrikaners were being systematically “killed and slaughtered” in the country.
South Africa’s G20 theme of “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability” focuses on supporting developing countries through debt relief and financing measures to cope with disasters caused by climate change. It was branded “anti-American” by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in February, when he skipped one of the first meetings of G20 ministers. South Africa says debt is a priority because repayments limit investments in essentials such as infrastructure, healthcare, and education. Between 2021 and 2023, Africa spent $70 per capita on debt interest payments, more than on education or health which were at $63 and $44 per capita respectively, according to the United Nations.
Ramaphosa will also push for the creation of an “International Inequalities Panel,” modelled after the IPCC for climate change, to tackle massive global inequality that is particularly stark in South Africa. A report for the G20 from a team led by Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz labelled wealth inequality as a global crisis that threatens democracy and social cohesion, saying it should be confronted with the same urgency as the climate crisis. “If adopted, it would mark a significant win not just for Pretoria’s presidency, but for the millions across the Global South whose voices are often sidelined in elite economic forums,” said Tendai Mbanje, a researcher at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights.
It is unclear if South Africa’s G20 presidency will manage to secure a consensus and release a joint final declaration on the issues discussed. Delegates involved in preparatory work said Argentina’s representatives have been obstructive. President Javier Milei — a Trump ally — is also boycotting the event. In the absence of the United States, China’s representative Premier Li Qiang is expected to advocate for multilateralism. “Economic globalization and multipolarity are irreversible,” Li said at an Asian regional summit in October. Russia will be represented by President Vladimir Putin’s economic advisor and deputy chief of staff, Maxim Oreshkin, in the notable absence of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The summit is set to begin the day after the scheduled conclusion of COP30 in Belem, Brazil, whose final negotiations could influence discussions in Johannesburg. It marks the end of a cycle of G20 presidencies by Global South countries, following Indonesia in 2022, India in 2023, and Brazil in 2024. The next to take the baton is the United States. Washington has already announced its intention to narrow the G20’s focus to issues of economic cooperation at the December 2026 meeting to be held at a Miami golf course owned by the Trump family.
© 2024 AFP
