World leaders from the Group of 20 broke with tradition and adopted a declaration at the start of their summit in South Africa on Saturday despite opposition from the US, which is boycotting the two-day talks.
The leaders reaffirmed a collective commitment to advancing peace efforts in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Palestinian territories and Ukraine, highlighting the bloc’s push for resolutions across these four conflict zones.
They also stressed the seriousness of climate change, in a snub to US President Donald Trump, who doubts the scientific consensus that global warming is caused by human activities.
“We will work for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the occupied Palestinian Territory and Ukraine,” the declaration said.
South Africa is holding its first G20 summit, with an ambitious agenda to make progress on solving some of the long-standing problems afflicting the world's poorest nations.
Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, said the leaders' declaration was adopted unanimously at the start of the talks in Johannesburg.
“Normally the adoption of the declaration happens right at the end. But … there was a sense that we should actually move to have the summit declaration adopted first,” Mr Magwenya told reporters.
More than 40 countries and institutions, including Arab nations such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are represented at the two-day meeting, but Mr Trump – who has condemned South Africa’s position as host – is absent.
Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, led the UAE delegation to Johannesburg on behalf of President Sheikh Mohamed.
Sheikh Khaled delivered a statement during the summit’s opening session, which addressed the themes of building economies, the role of trade, financing for development and the debt burden. He thanked Mr Ramaphosa for inviting the UAE to take part in the summit.
He said that the meeting embodies the spirit of global partnership and supports stronger market interconnectedness and deeper economic integration across countries and regions, Wam reported.
During his address, the Crown Prince also announced the launch of the UAE’s AI for Development initiative, which allocates $1 billion to finance artificial intelligence projects in African countries.
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, told the meeting that international co-operation is needed to tackle global challenges.
Prince Faisal said Saudi Arabia is “encouraging economic investment across all sectors”, adding that it is necessary to curb “illicit global financial flows”.
“The Kingdom is steadfast in working to build a sustainable global economy through its effective international partnerships,” he said.
Ukraine in focus
Meeting on the sidelines of the summit, European and other western leaders scrambled to come up with a co-ordinated response to President Trump's demand for Ukraine to accept a 28-point peace plan with Russia by Thursday.
The leaders released a statement in which they said the US peace plan for Ukraine would serve as a basis for talks to end the war with Russia, but that it needed “additional work”. This was seen by some observers as them rejecting the plan. However, European officials are expected to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mr Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff for talks in Geneva on Sunday.
US boycott
Mr Trump has said it is a “disgrace” that South Africa is hosting the meeting and accused the nation of pursuing racist, anti-white policies and persecuting its Afrikaner white minority.
“I do regret it,” French President Emmanuel Macron said of Mr Trump's absence, “but it should not block us. Our duty is to be present, engage and work all together because we have so many challenges.”
The adopted declaration was drawn up without US input in a surprise move described by a senior White House official as “shameful”.
The leaders are meeting at an exhibition centre near the Soweto township that was once home to Nelson Mandela.
Priorities set out by the host country for discussion include more help for poor nations to recover from climate-related disasters, reduce their foreign debt burdens, transition to green energy sources and harness their own mineral wealth, all in an attempt to counter widening global inequality.
“We’ll see,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on whether the G20 could prioritise developing world countries and make meaningful reforms. “But I think South Africa has done its part in putting those things clearly upon the table.”
A months-long diplomatic rift between the US and South Africa deepened in the build-up and Mr Trump's boycott dominated the pre-summit discussions in Johannesburg.
The G20 has 21 members: 19 nations, the European Union and the African Union.
The bloc was formed in 1999 as a bridge between rich and poor nations to confront global financial crises. While it often operates in the shadow of the Group of Seven richest democracies, G20 members together represent about 85 per cent of the world’s economy, 75 per cent of international trade and more than half of the global population.
With agencies
