By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GettyImages.
The two-day Group of 20 foreign ministers meeting wrapped up in Nasrec Expo Centre, South of Johannesburg on Friday, after a range of global issues having been discussed.
Despite the warm welcome foreign dignitaries received at the meeting, hosted by current G20 president South Africa, tensions were apparent before the event even got underway.
South Africa has been under fire from the new U.S. administration, which accuses the government of land grabs, an accusation South Africa strongly denies. President Donald Trump recently cut financial assistance to the country over the allegations.
But the Group of 20 (G20) Foreign Ministers have thrown their weight behind South Africa’s Presidency priorities, which focus on sustainable development and debt sustainability for low-income countries among others.
Other priorities of South Africa’s G20 Presidency are strengthening disaster resilience; mobilising finance for a Just Energy Transition; and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and development.
International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Ronald Lamola, hailed the two-day meeting as ‘historic’ which began on Thursday and ended on Friday.
The first G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting under South Africa’s presidency was historic as it was the first G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on the African continent,” Lamola said, noting that the “very productive” meeting had a high-level strategic discussion on the global geopolitical environment and its impact on their work.
He noted that the meeting showed support for South Africa’s G20 presidency theme of “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability” and its priorities and high-level deliverables. According to him, the priorities include strengthening disaster resilience, ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries, mobilizing finance for a just energy transition, and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and development.
“The South African presidency took note of the fruitful discussions and inputs on the various priorities and high-level deliverables which will enrich our work as we elaborate in-depth on these in the various streams of work during 2025,” said Lamola. “We can assure you that all the views expressed will be considered as we progress with our work during this year. We look forward to the active participation and contributions of all your delegations.”
He said the G20 raised concern on the slow progress being made in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and called for acceleration of speed in achieving that. The G20 foreign ministers also reaffirmed the G20’s collective responsibility to fostering sustainable, resilient and inclusive global growth, as a critical element of the broader multilateral system, said Lamola.
“Concerning the ongoing conflicts and wars in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, the meeting reiterated that all states must act in a manner consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter,” the minister said.
Lamola further noted that the G20 committed to support peace efforts in Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other major conflicts around the globe.
The meeting underscored the need to reform the international system of global governance, including the international financial architecture, the multilateral trading system, and the multilateral development banks, he added.
Meanwhile a planned group photo fell through, though no official explanation was given for its last-minute cancellation.
Zane Dangor, director-general of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said that the absence of a family photo was due to “time constraints.”
“This isn’t the first time a family photo has been omitted… it also did not occur at the meeting in Brazil. We had arranged a location for the photo, but the meetings extended late into the evening. When time ran out, it created a sense of urgency, and as a result, we did not take the family photo,” he said.
However Fullview learnt that foreign ministers from countries, including the UK, France, and Germany, declined to participate in the photo due to their reluctance to be photographed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.