Johannesburg (TDI): South African President Cyril Ramaphosa opened the Group of 20 (G20) foreign ministers’ meeting on Thursday, urging cooperation amid geopolitical tensions and rising intolerance.
Top diplomats from the world’s top economies convened in Johannesburg for the 2-day meeting held for the first time in Africa, overshadowed by the absence of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, AFP reported.
“The UN Charter, multilateralism and international law must stay central to all our efforts. It should keep us together,” Ramaphosa said.
He stated that geopolitical tensions, growing intolerance, conflicts, wars, pandemics, energy and food insecurity and climate change endanger an already fragile global coexistence.
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The G20, a grouping of 19 nations as well as the European Union and the African Union, is deeply divided on major issues from Russia’s war in Ukraine to climate change.
World leaders have also been divided on how to respond to the dramatic policy shifts from the US since the return of President Donald Trump.
“As the G20 we must continue to support diplomatic solutions to conflicts,” Ramaphosa said.
He emphasized that Africa’s first G20 presidency is a chance for the continent to be heard on critical international issues, including sustainable development, the digital economy and the transition to green energy.
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South Africa’s priorities for its presidency of the powerful group included finding ways to boost resilience to climate disasters and enhance “debt sustainability” for developing nations.
It also wanted to mobilize finance for a “just energy transition” in which nations most responsible for climate change support those least responsible, he said.
