The G20 Summit concludes today in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and it’s been an interesting one. World leaders are wondering what Donald Trump’s return means for the world.
But first, what is the G20? The Global Twenty, or G20, is an international forum for governments and central banks (like our Reserve Bank) from 19 countries and the European Union (EU). Established in 1999, the G20 brings together major and emerging economies to discuss and address global financial issues like climate change, economic stability, sustainable development and trade. Member states are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Türkiye, the UK and the US, and the EU and African Union (AU). This is the first time the AU has been invited to join the summit.
The G20 has a rotating presidency, meaning that any member state can be president of the forum. In 2025, it will be our turn to be the president of the G20 and host the summit. This is historic as we’re the only African country in the G20.
At this year’s summit, under the theme ‘Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet’, the focus was on:
- social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty
- reform of the institutions of global governance
- sustainable development and energy transition
These are all themes that the current G20 president country and host, Brazil, considers important. South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, who touched down in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, said in his statement at the first working session of the summit that South Africa fully supported the Brazillian presidency’s focus on social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty and said that food security would be a high-level priority of South Africa’s G20 Presidency, which will start on 1 December 2024. “As the G20, we need to ensure that the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals remains at the forefront of international financing decisions. We must leave no one behind,” he said.
In his statement at the second working summit, Ramaphosa called for a multilateral approach to reform global governance institutions, a recommitment to the purposes and principles of the United Nations charter and a ceasefire in Palestine. “The people of Palestine have been denied their right to self-determination and are under the yoke of a brutal and violent occupation. As the G20 collective, we need to add our voices to ensure that the carnage that is taking place in Gaza is ended and that we work towards a just and lasting peace for both Palestinians and Israelis,” Ramaphosa said.
The summit brought some wins but also showed the usual divides. Hopes for a breakthrough on climate change fizzled as leaders talked about scaling up financing but didn’t say who’d pay or commit to moving away from fossil fuels. The Ukraine war took centre stage, with calls for peace but no direct mention of Russia’s role in the conflict. A highlight? A plan to tax the super-rich got a nod, thanks to Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who also started a global alliance against hunger, aiming to help 500 million people by 2030. A funny moment from the summit is when Brazil’s first lady, Janja Lula da Silva, threw a f-bomb at billionaire businessman Elon Musk. Speaking at a social event during the summit, the first lady talked about the need to regulate social media to combat misinformation. “I’m not afraid of you, f*** you, Elon Musk,” said Janja in her speech. Of course, Musk did not take this lying down, ominously saying that “they would lose the next election.”
So what will be South Africa’s agenda come next year? Our theme will be ‘Fostering Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainable Development’ and will focus on tackling poverty, unemployment, and inequality while prioritising Africa’s development per the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Key priorities will also include addressing climate change, energy, food security, and debt challenges that impact Africa and other developing nations, along with advancing infrastructure development and global governance reform.
As South Africa prepares to take the global stage in 2025, hosting the G20 Summit is both an honour and a logistical challenge. We’ll focus on poverty, unemployment, and inequality, topics that, ironically, might also describe your average South African X thread.
Jokes aside, this is our chance to prove that we’re not just a country of amapiano and rugby but a player in shaping the world’s future. If we can fix our potholes, keep the lights on, and ensure the catering doesn’t run out of milk tart (or is it desperation pie?), we might just pull this off.
Tshego is a writer and law student from Pretoria. A keen follower of social media trends, his interests include high fantasy media, politics, science, talk radio, reading and listening to music.
He is also probably one of the only people left who still play Pokemon Go.
