• South Africa secured adoption of a G20 declaration despite the absence of the United States and several major leaders.

• The final text advances African priorities on debt relief, climate finance, and strategic minerals.

• Washington accused Pretoria of “instrumentalising” its presidency after the summit concluded.

The G20 summit convened for the first time on African soil in Johannesburg, a political milestone that South Africa framed as a chance to anchor African priorities in global economic governance. The ambition collided with a tense international environment shaped by a U.S. boycott, the absence of several major leaders, and persistent divisions over Russia’s war in Ukraine and the global climate crisis.

South Africa, which assumed the rotating G20 presidency in December 2024, positioned its mandate around stronger multilateral cooperation and greater visibility for African concerns. Pretoria placed debt relief for developing countries, commercial-barrier issues, the energy transition and climate-resilience financing at the centre of its agenda. The African Union’s admission as a permanent G20 member added political weight to these objectives.

G20 LEADERS SUMMIT

His Excellency President @CyrilRamaphosa welcomes G20 Heads of State and Government to the G20 Leaders’ Summit, hosted by South Africa at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Gauteng.

South Africa assumed the G20 Presidency on 01 December 2024 for a year-long… pic.twitter.com/zrsgDbQE5X

— The Presidency ?? (@PresidencyZA) November 22, 2025

However, the days preceding the summit created uncertainty over the agenda. Washington confirmed that it would send no senior representative. Beijing announced that President Xi Jinping would skip the meeting and delegate leadership to Premier Li Qiang. Other leaders, including Vladimir Putin, Javier Milei and Claudia Sheinbaum, also declined to attend. The wave of absences raised doubts about the summit’s global significance.

A Declaration Adopted Despite the Absence of the United States

Despite the context, the Johannesburg summit gathered broad participation from Global South countries and European partners. Delegations from Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, the European Union and the African Union took part in plenary sessions and sideline meetings. “We must not allow anything to diminish the value, stature or impact of the first African presidency of the G20,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his opening address.

The summit’s key outcome remained the adoption of a final declaration covering a range of global challenges despite U.S. objections. Argentina withdrew from the final round of discussions, arguing that the section on the Middle East did not fully reflect the conflict’s complexity, but it did not block the process. South Africa said the consensus reached was sufficient and described the text as the product of a year of collective work. “We have worked all year toward this adoption, and the final week was particularly intense,” presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told Reuters, adding that the document cannot be “renegotiated.”

According to reported details, the declaration restates Pretoria’s priorities. It calls for reducing the debt burden of developing countries and urges reform of the global financial system to allow low-income economies to invest in infrastructure, health and education.

It stresses the urgency of climate action and highlights the need for far more ambitious financing, shifting from limited sums to volumes aligned with real transition needs. Leaders support reinforced adaptation capacities, expanded energy access for vulnerable populations and early-warning systems for climate-driven disasters.

The Summit focused on key priorities including strengthening disaster resilience, ensuring debt sustainability, mobilising finance for a just energy transition, and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth. pic.twitter.com/utog30iyzZ

— The Presidency ?? (@PresidencyZA) November 23, 2025

The text also elevates the issue of strategic minerals, which are critical to African economies. It calls for securing supply chains increasingly exposed to geopolitical tensions and unilateral trade measures, underlining the minerals’ importance for the energy transition and emerging technologies. It contains an appeal for lasting peace across multiple conflict zones.

Leaders say they intend to work toward a just and comprehensive settlement in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the occupied Palestinian territories and Ukraine. The statement represents the summit’s only reference to the Ukraine conflict, while European officials on the sidelines criticised the limits of the U.S. plan and discussed alternatives.

Saving Multilateralism

Alongside the declaration, parallel discussions highlighted diverging regional priorities. Bloomberg reported that several Western leaders met in Johannesburg to examine the U.S. proposal on the Ukraine war and to attempt to craft a joint response. The report also indicated that Global South countries continue to prioritise debt, the energy transition, trade and emerging technologies—issues that regularly shape their political agendas.

India, Brazil and South Africa held a trilateral meeting on the sidelines as part of their cooperation efforts. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva argued that multilateralism remains capable of delivering results despite geopolitical tensions. “I believe multilateralism will prevail, because everyone here knows that together we will be much stronger, much more capable, and that solving the world’s problems will be easier,” he said, criticising U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to “strengthen unilateralism.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said “new alliances are emerging and the world is reorganising. […] The United States played no role in this. I do not think it was a wise decision for them not to be here.” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney echoed the view, noting that “the summit gathered nations representing three-quarters of the world’s population, two-thirds of global GDP and three-quarters of international trade, and that without official U.S. participation.”

Perspectives

The first African G20 summit ended on Sunday, 23 November, in Johannesburg. Despite upbeat statements, questions persist as the United States prepares to assume the group’s presidency.

Washington reacted sharply to the adopted declaration, accusing South Africa of having “instrumentalised” its presidency. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said: “The willingness of South Africa to publish a G20 leaders’ declaration despite constant and firm U.S. objections […] shows that they instrumentalised their presidency to undermine the founding principles of the G20.”

Several elements of the text diverge from the Trump administration’s positions, including references to climate change, investment in renewable energy and adaptation needs for vulnerable countries. Washington says it intends to “restore the legitimacy” of the G20 when it assumes the presidency next year.

Although the Johannesburg summit succeeded in inserting several African priorities into global discussions, the continuity of these advances may depend on the direction Washington gives the G20 amid an international context that remains uncertain.

EXTENDED FAMILY PHOTO:

Family Photo of #G20 Heads of State and Government; invited Leaders and Heads of International Organizations during the G20
Leaders’ Summit

? Johannesburg, South Africa#G20SouthAfrica ?? pic.twitter.com/N2URUFEWnY

— The Presidency ?? (@PresidencyZA) November 22, 2025

This article was initially published in French by Louis Nino Kansoun

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum