South Africa will hold the G20 Presidency from December 1, 2024, to November 30, 2025. The country’s leadership in the G20 will be led by Cyril Ramaphosa, the current President of South Africa. He will oversee the Presidency during this period, focusing on key themes such as solidarity, equality, and sustainability, with an emphasis on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and prioritizing Africa’s development. South Africa will pass the G20 Presidency on to the United States on December 1, 2025.
With the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development five years from its deadline, there is a heightened sense of urgency to accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). South Africa’s Presidency comes at a crucial moment, and expectations are high for the nation to lead with a progressive, people-centered, and solution-driven approach to the global polycrisis.
The global community faces severe setbacks in achieving the SDGs. The UN Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, highlighted the grave situation in the 2023 SDG Progress Report. According to the report, just 12% of SDG targets are on track, with progress on 50% deemed weak and insufficient, and over 30% showing signs of stalling or reversing. With only five years left before the 2030 deadline, a paradigm shift in approach is crucial. South Africa’s leadership will focus on practical solutions that accelerate progress and address these global challenges.
South Africa’s G20 agenda is grounded in its four strategic foreign policy pillars: national interests, the African Agenda, South-South cooperation, and multilateralism. These pillars guide its engagement in the G20, where the country will champion a developmental agenda aimed at achieving inclusive global growth.
One of South Africa’s key priorities is Africa’s development, emphasizing Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. The country aims to ensure that Africa’s needs and aspirations are firmly placed at the top of the G20’s agenda, reinforcing the importance of regional cooperation and solidarity.
The theme for South Africa’s G20 Presidency, “Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability,” reflects the country’s commitment to promoting a fairer and more inclusive global community. This theme builds on the progress made by previous G20 Presidencies from the Global South, and South Africa intends to drive this momentum forward.
- Solidarity: In an interconnected world, the challenges of one nation affect all nations. Through solidarity, South Africa seeks to build a future that is people-centered, development-oriented, and inclusive. This focus will ensure that the voices of the most vulnerable nations are heard and their needs prioritized.
- Equality: Equality is central to South Africa’s approach, ensuring fair treatment, opportunities, and advancement for all individuals and nations—regardless of their economic status, gender, race, geographic location, or other characteristics. This focus on equity is essential in a world that remains divided by disparities in wealth and development.
- Sustainability: A sustainable future is key to South Africa’s agenda. Sustainability is about balancing the needs of the present with those of future generations, ensuring that current economic and environmental practices do not compromise the well-being of tomorrow’s world.
South Africa’s G20 Presidency presents an opportunity to recalibrate global priorities and steer the world back on course towards achieving the SDGs. South Africa’s G20 Presidency is also poised to have a significant impact on Africa by amplifying the continent’s voice in global economic discussions. This leadership offers a unique opportunity to address Africa’s pressing challenges, such as poverty, inequality, and climate change, while pushing for increased investments in infrastructure, sustainable development, and trade within the continent. By championing Africa’s interests on the global stage, South Africa’s Presidency can drive greater economic integration and foster partnerships that are crucial for Africa’s long-term growth and prosperity.
