By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says talks are going extremely well and the G20 declaration will go ahead with or without the founding member of the group, United States (US).
This comes after US warned Pretoria not to make a G20 declaration without its presence at the leaders’ summit this weekend.
Ramaphosa was delivering the closing remarks at the G20 Social Summit in Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, East of Johannesburg.
He said South Africa will not be bullied and consensus will be reached by countries who are here and fully participating.
Ramaphosa said: “We will have a declaration. The talks are going extremely well. I’m confident we are moving towards a declaration, and they are now just dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.”
The G20 is a bloc made up of 19 nations, including the richest but also the top developing economies, the European Union and the African Union. The bloc is meant to bring developed and developing nations together to find solutions to global problems.
Africa’s first G20 summit will see representatives of 42 countries, but not the US, and one that’s supposed to be taking over its rotating presidency in Johannesburg.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also confirmed his attendance.
“I will be there and I am totally committed to work within the G20, to move all the key reforms that are essential in the international financial system and to create the conditions for the development agenda, particularly in Africa, to be sustainable,” Guterres said.
South Africa has used its presidency of the G20 to push for action to address the challenges of poor nations — such as securing financing to help countries facing the devastating effects of climate change, something independent experts estimate would require about $1 trillion a year by 2030.
On Tuesday, an expert panel’s report called for the International Monetary Fund and G20 countries to adopt broad measures to refinance debt of poor nations.
Other powerful countries — including France, Germany and the United Kingdom — have backed the G20 summit and their leaders are expected to arrive in South Africa on Friday, ahead of the two-day event, with many bilateral talks expected on the sidelines of the summit.
Amid the growing tensions between Pretoria and Washington, the Trump administration has slapped 30% tariffs on South African exports – the highest on the continent – souring relations between the two countries further.