Sg20President Cyril
Sg20President Cyril Ramaphosa:South Africa’s G20 prioritiesSpecial address by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the World Economic Forum on South Africa’sG20 priorities, Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 21 January 2025.SSouth Africa’s G20 presidency follows on the heels of Brazil’s verysuccessful G20 presidency last year and takes place ahead of the G20presidency of the USA in 2026. As a leading forum for internationaleconomic cooperation, the G20 plays an important role in shapingand strengthening global architecture and governance on majorinternational economic issues.For the first time in its history, the G20 is being hosted on theAfrican continent following the admission of the African Unionas a member of the G20. This is a moment of great significancefor South Africa, the African continent and the world in that it wasin Africa where humans developed the capacity and the impulsefor cooperation.Cooperation has been one of the key markers of humandevelopment touching on many aspects of life, from survival andsocial organisation to technological and cultural progress, which iswhat the G20 was established for. To foster cooperation to deal withthe challenges the world faces. Cooperation: the bedrock of humancivilisation. Without cooperation and collaboration – betweenindividuals, groups, peoples and nations – humanity cannot progress.As we confront the challenges of the 21st century – from climatechange to pandemics, from poverty to terrorism, from migration toartificial intelligence – we are again called upon to harness that mostpowerful, and that most enduring, of human attributes: mutuallybeneficial cooperation and collaboration. This is a time of risinggeopolitical tensions, unilateralism, nationalism, protectionism,isolationism, rising debt levels affecting poor countries in the worldand a declining sense of common purpose. Yet, this is a moment whenwe should be standing together as a global community to resolve theproblems that confront humanity by ending the wars and conflictsthat are causing such hardship and miseryto many people around the world.We are called upon by the exigency ofthe moment to act together with greaterurgency to halt the destruction of ourplanet. This is a moment when we should harness the abundantresources we collectively possess and the remarkable technologiesthat human ingenuity has produced to overcome poverty andinequality, unemployment, especially youth unemployment and theabuse of women, once and for all.Thirty-three years ago, the founding president of democraticSouth Africa, Nelson Mandela, spoke here at Davos. He said,“Our interdependence, bringing us together into a common globalhome, across the oceans and the continents, demands that we allcombine to launch a global offensive for development, prosperityand human survival.”In pursuit of this objective – and in giving effect to the mission ofthe G20 – South Africa will focus its G20 presidency on three themes:solidarity, equality and sustainable development.It is South Africa’s firm view that these themes can best be takenforward through the collective actions of institutions like the G20 andvarious multilateral institutions of the world, especially the UnitedNations (UN), the WTO and global financial institutions which shouldbe reformed and be more representative and responsive to the needsof the citizens of the world.We will seek to get the G20 to focus more on how we can enhancesolidarity through collective efforts to ensure that in the pursuitof progress for all, no person and no country is left behind. Therights and freedoms of one people cannot be separated from the10 | Service magazine
g20Srights and freedoms of all peoples. This is the foundation on whichsolidarity is built. One of the greatest impediments to growth,development and stability is the persistence of inequality within andbetween countries. The pursuit of the UN Sustainable DevelopmentGoal on reducing inequality is as much of an economic imperativeas it is a social imperative.As the G20, we need deliberate and coordinated efforts to focuson inclusive growth based on responsive trade and investment togrow the incomes of poor nations and the poorest in society andto ensure equal access to opportunities, especially for women andyoung people. For nations to flourish, equality and prosperity mustbe available to everyone – regardless of gender, race, religious beliefsor economic status.In addition to huge gaps in economic capabilities and levels ofhuman development, countries of the Global South face a lack ofpredictable financing for development and climate change, highlevels of debt and vulnerability to pandemics.Debt sustainability for low-income countries is one of the fourpriorities of South Africa’s G20 presidency. In the world we inhabittoday, the pursuit of equality and the practice of solidarity cannotbe separated from sustainable development. We need to meet theneeds of the present without compromising the ability of futuregenerations to meet their own needs.It is in the interests of all countries to act with greater urgency toreduce global emissions – and for industrialised countries to supportthe climate actions that poorer countries must necessarily take in linewith and support decisions of UN climate change summits. Anotherof South Africa’s priorities for its G20 presidency is to mobilisefinance for a just energy transition.We will seek agreement on increasing the quality and quantity ofclimate finance flows to developing economies as agreed at variousUN climate change summits. We will continue to call on globalfinancial institutions on the redirection of Special Drawing Rights,which are left unused. It is simply not fair that over 60% of SpecialDrawing Rights go to a handful of wealthy countries. These DrawingRights should be redirected to enable countries in Africa and otherparts of the Global South to realise their developmental aspirations –to enable them to invest in infrastructure, in industrial development,in education and training and in healthcare.We need to leverage private capital and use innovative forms offinance and taxation to raise additional resources for sustainabledevelopment. Global finance institutions should derisk and supportmore financing for emerging and developing economies. We needto support country initiatives aimed at addressing climate change,such as the Just Energy Transition Partnership that South Africa hasentered with several countries of the Global North.As we accelerate the transition to low-carbon economies in amanner that is just and inclusive, we must recognise the damagethat climate change has already wrought. And will continue towreak. Considering this, South Africa has made the strengthening ofdisaster resilience as another of the priorities of its G20 presidency.The increasing rate of climate-induced natural disasters is affectingcountries that can least afford the costs of recovery and rebuilding.To address this, special financing and insurance mechanisms must bemade available to scale up funding for post-disaster reconstruction.Since the dawn of the industrial age, the benefits to humanity ofeconomic growth have been achieved at the cost of environmentaldestruction. If we are to survive and thrive as humanity, we mustchange this. We must pursue development pathways that reconcilegrowth with urgent climate action.Another of South Africa’s priorities for its G20 presidency is toharness critical minerals for inclusive growth and development. Weneed a G20 framework on green industrialisation and investmentsto ensure progress towards a grand bargain that promotes valueaddition to critical minerals close to the source of extraction.We also need the development of low-carbon manufacturingvalue chains which can support decarbonisation and industrialdevelopment. There is a need to promote beneficiation and localvalue addition of resources at source resulting in an additive ratherthan an extractive relationship. As minerals extraction accelerates tomatch the needs of the energy transition, the countries and localCooperation has beenone of the key markersof human development.communities endowed with these resources must be theones to benefit the most.We will use this G20 to champion the use of criticalminerals – through a programme of green industrialisation– as an engine for growth and development in Africa andthe rest of the Global South. As this will bethe first G20 summit held in Africa, it is avaluable platform to demonstrate Africa’sService magazine | 11
