South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called for sustained investment in African development as he officially opened the historic G20 Leaders’ Summit on Saturday, marking the first time the gathering of the world’s major economies has been hosted on African soil.
Speaking at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec, Ramaphosa urged member nations to support new global partnerships that would unlock long-term financing for the continent.
“We agreed that we must take action to ensure debt sustainability for low-income countries. The G20 needs to renew its efforts to advance debt sustainability, with a particular emphasis on African countries,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa highlighted the work of the G20 Africa Expert Panel, chaired by South Africa’s former Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, which argues that African efforts to accelerate productive investment require new global partnerships and strong multilateral cooperation.
The panel’s report calls on the G20 to support this effort by building a global policy framework that unlocks long-term finance at lower costs and investment at scale.
The gathering proceeded under the shadow of a boycott by the United States President Donald Trump refused to send officials, citing widely discredited allegations that South Africa’s government persecutes Afrikaners.
Despite Washington’s opposition to any formal agreement being issued without its participation, the summit adopted a declaration addressing climate change and other global challenges.
In his opening remarks, Ramaphosa said the adoption of the declaration from the summit sends an important signal to the world that multilateralism does deliver.
The summit will continue on Sunday, after which the G20 presidency will formally transfer to the United States on November 30.
