South Africa Emphasizes Expanding Cooperation Among G20 Members
According to the English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News Agency and Russia Today, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted the importance of expanding cooperation among G20 member countries during the opening ceremony of the summit in Johannesburg. He expressed gratitude to senior officials from member states as well as heads of major international organizations for attending the event.
Ramaphosa stated that the purpose of the G20 summit is to find solutions for overcoming common challenges facing humanity.
The South African leader quoted Nelson Mandela, his country’s late leader and apartheid hero, saying it is indeed time for South Africa to secure its rightful place in the global community.
Underlining South Africa’s responsibility as both a member and current chairholder of the G20, Ramaphosa identified trade, sustainable progress, health, science and technology education, energy, climate change, and agriculture as key issues requiring urgent attention to improve thier conditions.
The G20 leaders’ summit began today in Johannesburg-the first ever held on African soil.
This year’s meeting takes place amid tensions between Washington and the European Union over Ukraine’s future and stalemates in climate talks taking place in Brazil.
global leaders attending include French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chinese Premier Li Qiang, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
however,under then-U.S. president Donald Trump’s management view that South Africa’s priorities on trade cooperation and climate action do not align with U.S. policies led to America’s withdrawal from participating in this summit.
The G20 comprises 19 countries plus the European Union. The African Union attends some meetings as a guest observer.
