Maseru, Nov.22 — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa opened a much-anticipated G20 summit in Johannesburg on Saturday by emphasising the need for “multilateralism” to confront “the threats facing humanity today”.
He made this call to a room full of leaders from major economies around the world with the notable exception of U.S. President Donald Trump, who boycotted the summit.
He said the G20 underscores the value of the relevance of multilateralism.
He said he is confident that a Leaders’ Declaration will be adopted saying most points have already been agreed to.
He said the adoption will send an important signal that multilateralism is still alive and well.
Moreover, he mentioned that widening wealth and development gaps are the greatest threat to sustainable global growth saying it is a challenge his G20 presidency sought to tackle head-on.
President Ramaphosa further called for breaking down economic, gender, racial, and geographic barriers that keep societies divided.
Meanwhile President Trump has boycotted the two-day summit over his claims that South Africa is pursuing racist anti-white policies and persecuting its Afrikaner white minority.
The Trump administration has also made clear its opposition to South Africa’s G20 agenda from the start of the year, when South Africa began hosting G20 meetings. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipped a G20 foreign ministers meeting in February, calling the agenda all about diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change
He said he would not waste American taxpayers’ money on that.
South Africa assumed the G20 Presidency from December 01 2024 through to November 2025. The United States of America will host the G20 in 2026.
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