South Africa concludes "historic" G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting
South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola hailed the event as "historic" when briefing the media after the meeting, which started on Thursday and ended Friday in Johannesburg.
"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.
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