G20 makes historic Africa debut as Global South urges fairer global governance

The 20th Group of 20 (G20) Summit opened in Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday, adopting a declaration calling for more equitable global governance.

This is the first time the G20 summit has been held in Africa. Under the theme "Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability" the two-day event highlights a pivotal moment for Africa as it seeks to elevate its role in global governance and advance development priorities shared by the Global South.

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G20 makes historic Africa debut as Global South urges fairer global governance

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G20 makes historic Africa debut as Global South urges fairer global governance

The 122-point "G20 South Africa Summit: Leaders' Declaration" emphasizes multilateral cooperation and calls for enhanced support to developing nations to drive inclusive growth and sustainable development.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa opened the summit by emphasizing the historic significance of hosting the event in Africa. The adoption of this declaration will send an important signal to the world that multilateralism can and does deliver results, he stated.

The swift adoption of the declaration on the opening day contrasted sharply with the position of the United States. Prior to the summit, the U.S. Embassy in South Africa formally notified the South African government that it would not participate and opposed any consensus-based outcomes without American approval. South Africa responded that by boycotting the summit, the U.S. had forfeited its voice in the proceedings and could not dictate terms.

The smooth adoption of the declaration demonstrates that countries are taking concrete actions to enhance cooperation and support multilateralism, South African Presidential Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told media later on Saturday.

The declaration reaffirms members' commitment to strengthening UN-centered multilateralism and identifies peace as essential to sustainable development. It also addresses four priority areas: enhancing disaster response, ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries, financing just energy transitions, and leveraging critical minerals for inclusive growth.

South Africa assumed the rotating G20 presidency on Dec. 1, 2024, becoming the first African nation to hold the position. The United States is scheduled to take over the presidency on Dec. 1, 2025.

The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Wednesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.32 percent to 99.648 at 1900 GMT.

In late New York trading, the euro was up to 1.1607 dollars from 1.1523 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound climbed to 1.3324 dollars from 1.3189 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 158.82 Japanese yen, lower than 158.95 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.7931 Swiss francs from 0.8008 Swiss francs, and it was down to 1.3895 Canadian dollars from 1.3937 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar slipped to 9.3935 Swedish kronor from 9.4895 Swedish kronor.