South Africa has set the agenda for its Group of Twenty (G20) Presidency with the commencement of the fist engagement of the more than 130 meetings that will precede the G20 Summit in 2025.
The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, officially opened the first G20 Sherpas Meeting in Johannesburg, on Monday.
The Sherpa Track is led by the personal representatives of G20 leaders. The Sherpa Track oversees negotiations and discusses the points that form the summit’s agenda, and coordinates most of the work.
“The first Sherpa Meeting of the G20 is important traditionally, as it sets the stage for the upcoming Presidency and the critical conversations on some of the most vital issues of our time.
“In the spirit of Ubuntu, our shared humanity, we will address these challenges through our high-level deliverables and priorities, which lie at the core of the original G20 mandate of promoting strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth and by building partnerships across all sectors of society to find collective solutions,” Lamola said on Monday.
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South Africa’s G20 Presidency is being held under the theme: “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability”, a theme that seeks to harness global will and capabilities to confront the enormous challenges the world is facing.
South Africa will use its G20 Presidency to secure urgent progress on shared goals through several priority actions, which include strengthening disaster resilience and response; ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries; mobilising finance for a just energy transition and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and development.
As part of its efforts to bring the Sherpa and the Finance tracks closer together, three temporary Task Forces, an Initiative and a Commission will be established during South Africa’s G20 Presidency.
South Africa’s priorities include Inclusive Economic Growth, Industrialisation, Employment and Reduced Inequality; Food Security and Artificial Intelligence, Data Governance and Innovation for Sustainable Development.
“A review of the work of the G20 — 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,” Lamola said.
The three Task Forces, the Initiative and Commission will be established to deliver tangible results during South Africa’s G20 Presidency. All of the priorities, as well as the overall theme, will influence Working Groups’ priorities and work plans.
South Africa assumed its G20 Presidency on 1 December 2024, following the astute and successful leadership of Brazil.
“The South African government also recognises 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.
“A comprehensive dialogue with civil society and other State and non-State institutions will be conducted through the existing Engagement Groups.
“Following the approach of the Brazilian Presidency, a G20 Social Forum will be convened, which will precede the Leaders’ Summit in November 2025, to bring together representatives of the existing engagement groups and other segments of civil society that may offer meaningful contributions to the G20,” Lamola said.
The G20 group comprises many of the world’s largest developing and developed economies. It was established to tackle pressing global economic and financial issues. Together, G20 members account for around 85 percent of global GDP and 75 percent of international trade.
The G20 comprises 19 countries including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, United Kingdom, and United States and two regional bodies, namely the European Union and the African Union.
The grouping therefore plays a critical role in influencing global policy making and fostering global economic stability.
“I trust that this meeting will set the trend for our subsequent meetings and that, as much as we celebrate the landmark achievements of the G20, we will also, during the course of the year ahead, begin to look ahead toward the strategic imperatives for the next cycle of G20 cooperation,” Lamola said. –SAnews.gov.za
Watch a SA kicks off first G20 engagement related video:
Stunning South Africa:
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Hemlock
Van is getting married, but he and his fiancee have never done the deed – in fact he\’s never been with any woman before. He\’s getting more and more nervous as the big day approaches, so he confides in his friend. His friend says \’No worries man. I\’ll come by the honeymoon suite before you guys get there, and I\’ll hide behind the curtain, and I\’ll whisper instructions to you.\’
\’You\’d do that for me?\’
\’Sure thing man!\’
So the wedding day arrives, it was a lovely service (so I was told, I wasn\’t there myself) and Van\’s friend sneaks into the honeymoon suite as promised and hides behind the curtain.
Van and his new wife arrive in the room, get settled on the bed, and things are getting steamy.
But Van is still super nervous and his tummy is bubbling, so he murmers to his wife, \’Listen babe, I\’m just gonna go to the bathroom quick. I think it\’s that wors roll from earlier.\’
\’Sure thing babe.\’
So Van goes into the bathroom, and he\’s taking quite a long time. And his wife is starting to feel the nerves herself. And it\’s getting worse. She can\’t hold it in. But she doesn\’t want to go after he\’s gone and totally ruin the mood. So she looks around and finally finds a shoebox. Quickly, she does her business in the shoebox, and she shoves it under the bed just as Van comes back from the loo.
Van gets back on the bed and they go at it again. But after a minute or so Van smells something not so lekker.
\’What\’s that smell?\’
\’Nothing babe,\’ he wife tries to assure him.
\’No man there\’s definitely something not so lekker in this room!\’VSo Van starts looking around the room, in the corners, in the cupboard, and finally he looks under the bed, and sees the shoebox.
He pull it out, and opens it up, and in horror he shouts \’Sies! Daar\’s kak in hierdie doos!\’
And from behind the curtain his friend yells, \’NEE MAN, DRAAI HAAR OM!\”
Curio
Fun South African Fact: South Africa is the largest producer of platinum in the world.