President Cyril Ramaphosa closed the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg on Sunday. This marked the end of key talks held under a cloud of new strain between South Africa and the US after Washington chose to stay away. He said the G20 role would move to the US next year even though President Donald Trump was not there.
Ramaphosa spoke to leaders at the Nasrec EXPO Centre and told them the shift to the next G20 year would go on. This was true even though Trump did not come to the end of the summit or take part in the handover. The meeting closed at a time when ties between Pretoria and Washington were tense.
The strain came after false claims from the Trump team that there was white genocide and state-backed land grabs in South Africa. The US also asked that the meeting not bring in a joint text. When leaders did so, the White House said South Africa had broken the rulesm
Summit Themes and Ramaphosa’s Closing Message
Holding the gavel, Ramaphosa thanked world leaders for being at the summit and said he would meet them again in the US next year. He asked all states to face shared world problems as one and said the G20 would work as a team.
He said the summit aimed to shine a light on issues that hit rising and poor states the most.In his last words, Ramaphosa said the talks of the weekend raised key points on climate change, world conflict and how money markets work. He said the summit came at a time when more and more voices were calling for real steps to deal with long-term world needs.
Ramaphosa said nations must work to end wars, fight poverty and cut gaps in wealth while taking fast action on climate change. He said these goals need both strong will and close work between all G20 states.
Debt Burdens and Economic Reform
He said the G20 saw that many poor and rising states face big debt loads that block their path to UN goals. Ramaphosa said leaders agreed to help low and mid-income states that face risks due to this debt and called on all states to build a cycle of less debt, more public spend and fair growth.
Ramaphosa said shared good times rely on shared growth. He said the world can rise only if all states rise. His words showed the G20 as a place where large money and system issues can be faced as one.
South Africa later said that since Trump did not come to the summit or send a stand-in for the handover, the shift of the G20 role would take place at the department of international relations and co-operation in Pretoria. The US chargé d’affaires will be part of that step.
