G20 Leaders Adopt 122-Point Declaration at First African Summit in Johannesburg
JOHANNESBURG, 23 November 2025. Leaders of the Group of Twenty (G20) concluded a two-day summit in Johannesburg on Sunday, adopting a 122-paragraph declaration that addressed debt relief, energy transitions, food security, artificial intelligence, and reform of global financial institutions, in...
G20 Leaders Adopt 122-Point Declaration at First African Summit in Johannesburg
JOHANNESBURG, 23 November 2025. Leaders of the Group of Twenty (G20) concluded a two-day summit in Johannesburg on Sunday, adopting a 122-paragraph declaration that addressed debt relief, energy transitions, food security, artificial intelligence, and reform of global financial institutions, in what marked the first G20 Leaders' Summit held on the African continent.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, chairing the summit under the South African presidency's theme of "Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability," said the gathering had sought to ensure that the development priorities of the Global South and the African continent were represented permanently on the G20 agenda. Among the declared commitments was support for Mission 300, an initiative targeting electricity access for 300 million Africans by 2030, and reaffirmation of the Compact with Africa, a framework to mobilise private investment into African economies, with Zambia and Angola joining as new members.
The summit was attended by leaders including France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Friedrich Merz, India's Narendra Modi, the United Kingdom's Keir Starmer, and Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Chinese Premier Li Qiang represented President Xi Jinping. The United States sent no senior officials, after President Donald Trump declined to attend, citing claims about treatment of white South Africans that South African authorities and independent fact-checkers have rejected as unfounded. Argentina's Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno attended in place of President Javier Milei and, alongside Argentina, refused to sign the final declaration, citing objections to the language used on Palestine and the Middle East.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney noted that participating nations represented three-quarters of the world's population and trade, stating that "the world can move on without the United States."
South Africa allocated R691 million towards the costs of hosting the summit and broader G20 presidency. The declaration also included language calling for a ceasefire and diplomatic resolution in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, and the Palestinian territories, and renewed calls for reform of the International Monetary Fund and multilateral development banks to give African and developing nations greater representation.
South Africa assumed the G20 presidency on 1 December 2024, becoming the first African country to hold the position. The 2026 presidency passed to the United States, which held its summit in Washington.