South Africa's Historic G20 Presidency: Leading Global Cooperation Through Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability

South Africa has achieved an extraordinary milestone by becoming the first African nation to hold the G20 Presidency, taking the helm from December 1, 2024, to November 30, 2025. This historic moment comes at a critical juncture—just five years before the deadline of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—and represents a pivotal opportunity for Africa to shape global economic and financial policy.

A Presidency Born from Crisis

The world faces a series of overlapping and mutually reinforcing crises that threaten global stability and prosperity. Climate change accelerates while development stalls. Inequality deepens as poverty persists. Hunger spreads as unemployment rises. Technological changes disrupt traditional economies while geopolitical instability undermines international cooperation.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres underscored the urgency of this situation during the launch of the Special Edition of the Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report in April 2023. His assessment was sobering: only 12% of SDG targets are currently on track, approximately 50% need more substantial progress, and more than 30% have either stalled or reversed.

Against this backdrop, South Africa assumes leadership of the G20 with a clear mandate: to encourage a paradigm shift and accelerate the implementation of practical solutions that can achieve the 2030 SDGs.

The Ubuntu Philosophy: "I Am Because We Are"

South Africa approaches its G20 Presidency guided by the African philosophy of Ubuntu—a concept that emphasizes interconnectedness within a broader communal, societal, environmental, and spiritual context. Ubuntu, often translated as "I am because we are" or "I am because you are," reflects the understanding that individual nations cannot thrive in isolation.

Countries that attempt to prosper alone amid widespread poverty and underdevelopment contradict the essence of Ubuntu and our collective humanity. This understanding aligns with the transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, which are dedicated to ensuring that no one is left behind.

While the challenges we face are common, their causes and consequences are unevenly distributed. Part of the paradigm shift requires G20 countries to situate inequalities at the heart of economic policymaking. Inequality poses a significant threat to global economic growth, development, and stability, as the disparities in wealth and development within and between countries are both unjust and unsustainable.

A lack of predictable and sustainable financing for development and climate action exacerbates these inequalities. This is worsened further by polarized ownership patterns of critical resources for development, extreme vulnerability to pandemics and other global public health emergencies. These challenges are difficult to overcome given crippling sovereign debt levels that force many countries to sacrifice their developmental obligations to service unmanageable debts.

South Africa will address these urgent challenges by building partnerships across all sectors of society, acting in the interests of our shared humanity. In the spirit of Ubuntu, we recognize that individual nations cannot thrive in isolation. Countries that attempt to prosper alone amid widespread poverty and underdevelopment contradict the essence of Ubuntu and our collective humanity.

The Theme: Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability

South Africa has embraced the theme "Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability" for its G20 Presidency. These three pillars lie at the core of the original G20 mandate of promoting Strong, Sustainable, Balanced, and Inclusive Growth.

Through solidarity, we can create an inclusive future centered on people. Solidarity will allow us to develop our societies in a way that reflects our shared humanity. In our interconnected world, the challenges faced by one nation impact all nations.

By promoting equality, we strive to ensure fair treatment and equal opportunities for all individuals and nations, regardless of their economic status, gender, race, geographic location, or any other characteristic.

Sustainability involves meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Four Critical Priorities

Given the state of the world, South Africa believes the G20 should elevate four critical priorities:

First, we must take action to strengthen disaster resilience and response. The increasing rate of climate-induced natural disasters is affecting countries around the world, with a devastating impact on those countries that cannot afford the costs of recovery and rebuilding. South Africa will elevate this issue to leader level, calling for the global community, including international financial institutions, development banks, and the private sector, to scale up post-disaster reconstruction.

Second, we must take action to ensure debt sustainability for low-income countries. A key obstacle to inclusive growth in developing economies, including many in Africa, is an unsustainable level of debt which limits their ability to invest in infrastructure, healthcare, education, and other development needs. Building on G20 initiatives undertaken in recent years, South Africa will seek to advance sustainable solutions to tackle high structural deficits and liquidity challenges and extend debt relief to developing economies. South Africa will also seek to ensure that the sovereign credit ratings are fair and transparent and to address high risk premiums for developing economies. Key to addressing the debt question is dealing with the Cost of Capital. We believe the G20 has the capacity to address this matter in a comprehensive manner.

Third, we must mobilize finance for a just energy transition. South Africa will seek to secure agreement on increasing the quality and quantity of climate finance flows to developing countries. This would include strengthening multilateral development banks, enhancing and streamlining support for country platforms such as the Just Energy Transition Partnership and more effectively leveraging private capital.

Fourth, we must work together to harness critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development. As minerals extraction accelerates to match the needs of the energy transition, it is crucial to ensure that the countries and local communities endowed with these resources are the ones to benefit the most. South Africa will use its G20 Presidency to champion the use of critical minerals as an engine for growth and development in Africa.

Three High-Level Task Forces

These considerations will shape South Africa's approach across G20 Working Groups in both the Sherpa and Finance Tracks. They will also inform three time-bound Task Forces that bring together role players across the Tracks and Working Groups:

Task Force 1 focuses on Inclusive Economic Growth, Industrialization, Employment, and Reduced Inequality. This task force addresses the core challenge of ensuring that economic growth benefits all segments of society, particularly marginalized communities.

Task Force 2 addresses Food Security, recognizing that hunger and malnutrition remain persistent challenges despite global abundance. This task force will work to strengthen agricultural systems, improve food distribution, and ensure nutritional security for all.

Task Force 3 tackles Artificial Intelligence, Data Governance, and Innovation for Sustainable Development. This forward-looking initiative recognizes the transformative potential of AI while ensuring its development serves humanity's best interests.

A review of the work of the G20, titled "The G20 at 20 years": A Reflection on Key Achievements and the Way Forward," will also feature as one of South Africa's deliverables through a Sherpa Track Initiative.

South Africa also proposes the establishment of a Cost of Capital Commission during its G20 Presidency. This Commission will deliver a comprehensive expert review on the issues impacting the cost of capital for developing economies, which could help address future debt sustainability issues and the related fiscal space challenges.

Building on Previous Achievements

In addition to these dedicated contributions, South Africa will seek to take forward advances achieved under previous presidencies. In particular, South Africa recognizes the centrality of advancing work on increasing fair financing for development, including through scaling up Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs); taking forward global financial architecture reform; improving pandemic preparedness; achieving fair international taxation regimes, including taxation of the super-rich.

All these priorities, as well as the overall theme, will influence Working Groups' priorities and work plans. The initial issue notes of each Working Group will reflect on how their work relates to these high-level priorities, and the agendas for Working Group meetings will take these priorities into account. The task forces will establish closer working relations with Working Groups most connected to each of the priority areas.

An Inclusive Approach

Guided by the spirit of Ubuntu, decision-making and governance in traditional African societies has, in the main, operated by way of consensus for what is in the best interest of all. Consistent with this wisdom, South Africa views the diversity of the G20 nations as a strength rather than a source of division and will preserve the unity of the Group in pursuit of the priorities outlined.

South Africa fully supports the approach of strengthening partnerships and expanding dialogue with a wide range of actors, including States, international organizations, and civil society, to collectively shape the G20's approach to issues requiring international cooperation.

The experience, networks, research capacity, and grassroots-level knowledge of the G20 engagement groups will continue to greatly enrich the G20's collective discussions and policy decisions. The participation of non-governmental stakeholders reflects the overall commitment of South Africa to work towards a broader and more inclusive Presidency, which is also reflected in our overall theme and deliverables during this year.

Taking on board different perspectives, including those which may not be ideologically aligned to ours, is especially important for South Africa, as it will confer greater legitimacy to the G20 as an organization and to the outcomes of the Leaders' Summit in 2025.

The South African government also recognizes the significant strides made by the Brazilian G20 Presidency in enhancing the G20 as a site of democratic global engagement. The South African presidency will continue this trajectory.

The African Moment

South Africa's G20 Presidency provides an unprecedented opportunity to amplify African voices and concerns on the global stage. As the most industrialized economy in Africa, South Africa brings unique perspectives to the G20 table, particularly around inequality and development, climate justice, digital transformation, and sustainable development.

Key African priorities include debt relief and sustainable financing for development, climate finance and adaptation support, trade facilitation and market access, and technology transfer and capacity building. South Africa's presidency ensures that these concerns receive the attention they deserve from the world's most powerful economies.

Looking Forward

As South Africa leads the G20 through 2025, the world watches how this presidency will shape global cooperation in the years ahead. The focus on inequality, sustainability, and inclusive growth reflects not just South African priorities, but the needs of billions of people in developing nations worldwide.

The success of South Africa's G20 presidency will be measured not just by the agreements reached, but by how effectively it advances the interests of the Global South and promotes a more equitable and sustainable global order. With the spirit of Ubuntu guiding its approach, South Africa is well-positioned to lead this historic effort.

The challenges are immense, but so is the opportunity. As the first African nation to hold the G20 Presidency, South Africa carries the hopes and aspirations of an entire continent—and indeed, of all those who believe in a more just, equitable, and sustainable world.