South Africa G20 Delivers Landmark Declaration on Global South Priorities
The G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, successfully adopted a comprehensive Leaders’ Declaration despite a high-profile boycott by the United States.
In a decisive move underscoring a commitment to multilateralism, the bloc unanimously agreed on the 122-point declaration early in the proceedings, focusing heavily on issues critical to developing nations under South Africa’s theme of “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability.”
Key Resolutions Adopted
The declaration frames concrete actions around four core pillars championed by the African presidency:
- Financial Reform and Debt Relief: Recognizing rising debt as a major impediment to growth, the G20 pledged to strengthen the Common Framework for Debt Treatments for developing economies. The resolution stresses a “predictable, timely, orderly, and coordinated manner” for implementation and explores innovative solutions like debt-for-climate swaps.
- Climate Resilience and Justice: Leaders committed to scaling up both the quality and quantity of climate finance to developing countries, bolstering multilateral development banks, and supporting a just energy transition. The declaration also endorsed the G20 Critical Minerals Framework to ensure resource-rich nations, particularly in Africa, benefit from the global push for green technologies.
- Multilateral Cooperation: Affirming the UN Charter, the G20 reinforced its commitment to a rules-based global trading system and called for the reform of the WTO. The declaration also addressed geopolitical fractures, pledging to work toward “a just, comprehensive and lasting peace” in conflict zones like Sudan, the DRC, and Ukraine, while condemning terrorism.
- African Development Agenda: Placing Africa firmly at the centre of global efforts, the summit launched the G20 Africa Engagement Framework (2025-2030). This framework supports initiatives to boost food security through the ‘Ubuntu Approaches’ and aims to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030, reinforcing the continent’s pivotal role in global prosperity.
The early adoption of the Declaration, hailed as a victory for the Global South, sends a powerful message that the G20 can deliver solutions on shared global challenges, even amid geopolitical divisions.
