JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa opened on Thursday a Group of 20 foreign ministers meeting with a call for "cooperation" amid geopolitical tensions and "rising intolerance". Top diplomats from the world's largest economies gathered in Johannesburg for the two-day talks held for the first time in Africa, overshadowed by the absence of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"It is critical that the principles of the UN Charter, multilateralism and international law should remain at the centre of all our endeavours. It should be the glue that keeps us together," Ramaphosa said.
"Geopolitical tensions, rising intolerance, conflict and war, climate change, pandemics and energy and food insecurity threaten an already fragile global coexistence," Ramaphosa said.
South Africa sees the first G20 meeting on the continent as an opportunity to get rich nations to heed poorer countries' concerns - worsening inequality, inadequate action by wealthy countries on climate change, and a financial system that favours investment banks over poor sovereign debtors.
"Those most responsible for climate change, you have a duty and a responsibility to support those least responsible," Ramaphosa said, while also calling for "debt sustainability for low-income countries."
The United States did not attend: Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month rejected as "very bad" the previously agreed agenda of "diversity, equity and inclusion".
Then Trump cut US aid to South Africa in an ideological dispute with the latter's efforts to redress historic racial injustices in land ownership - and over its genocide case against US ally Israel at the International Court of Justice.
The gathering takes place as Trump has upended the US policy of solidarity with Ukraine as he seeks to broker peace in its war with Russia. He has blamed President Volodymyr Zelensky for the conflict, and sidelined Nato allies in ending a campaign to isolate Russia.
"As the G20 we must continue to advocate for diplomatic solutions to conflicts," Ramaphosa said.
The US absence is an opportunity for China, which has the world's second biggest economy, to expand its influence. Such efforts by Beijing are normally focused on the Global South but China has quickly sought to capitalise on the cracks in the transatlantic alliance. Its foreign ministry said on Monday that "healthy and stable" China-EU relations are needed now more than ever. - Reuters
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
