G20 Summit 2023: South Africa calls for enhanced, expanded global partnership for sustainable development

Climate change, environmental degradation, unsustainable consumption and production and resource scarcity are challenges that can only be addressed collectively and with a great deal of solidarity, said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Ramaphosa called for an enhanced and expanded global partnership to achieve sustainable development. “We are delighted that the #G20 has accepted the @_AfricanUnion as a member of the #G20. Global reconstruction in the wake of the #COVID19 pandemic presents a unique opportunity to accelerate the transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient, sustainable societies,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Developing economies are bearing the brunt of climate change despite carrying the least responsibility for this crisis. As African and other developing economy countries, we face the task of meeting our climate commitments in the midst of significant developmental challenges like poverty, inequality and unemployment,” he said. “Climate change, environmental degradation, unsustainable consumption and production and resource scarcity are challenges that can only be addressed collectively and with a great deal of solidarity,” he added. The President further said that the issues must be supported by the concrete policies and actions outlined in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing for development. The African Union became a full member of the G-20 on Saturday, September 9, 2023. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the inclusion of the African bloc will enhance the effectiveness of the G-20. US President Joe Biden called last year for the AU’s permanent membership in the G20, saying it’s been “a long time in coming.” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the bloc was invited to join during the G20 summit his country is hosting this week. Permanent G20 membership signals the rise of a continent whose young population of 1.3 billion is set to double by 2050 and make up a quarter of the planet’s people. The AU’s 55 member states, which include the disputed Western Sahara, have pressed for meaningful roles in the global bodies that long represented a now faded post-World War II order, including the United Nations Security Council. They also want reforms to a global financial system - including the World Bank and other entities - that forces African countries to pay more than others to borrow money, deepening their debt. Africa is increasingly courting investment and political interest from a new generation of global powers beyond the U.S. and the continent’s former European colonizers. China is Africa’s largest trading partner and one of its largest lenders. Russia is its leading arms provider. Gulf nations have become some of the continent’s biggest investors. Turkey ’s largest overseas military base and embassy are in Somalia. Israel and Iran are increasing their outreach in search of partners. African leaders have impatiently challenged the framing of the continent as a passive victim of war, extremism, hunger and disaster that’s pressured to take one side or another among global powers. Some would prefer to be brokers, as shown by African peace efforts following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Granting the African Union membership in the G20 is a step that recognizes the continent as a global power in itself.  With inputs from AP.