President Cyril Ramaphosa is leading a delegation to the annual G20 Leaders’ Summit in Osaka, Japan, which will also include a BRICS Leaders’ Meeting, an African trilateral, and series of bilateral sessions.
This will be Ramaphosa’s first international engagement since his inauguration in May 2019.
The G20 was established in 1999 to enhance multilateral cooperation for the recovery of the global economy, bring stability to the global financial system, promote long-term sustainable growth and to strengthen global governance
This is the first time Japan will host the G20 Summit as well as the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting, the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and other ministerial meetings.
The Leaders’ Summit will be held in the city of Osaka while other meetings will be hosted at eight different locations across Japan.
The G20 was established in 1999 to increase multilateral cooperation for the recovery of the global economy, bring stability to the global financial system, promote long-term sustainable growth and to strengthen growth and global governance.
The 2019 Summit will focus on eight key themes spanning the global economy, trade and investment, innovation, environment and energy, employment, women’s empowerment, development and health.
Presidential Spokesperson, Khusela Diko, said these “themes reflect, to a large degree, South Africa’s own national priorities,” as set out in Ramaphosa’s 2019 State of the Nation Address in earlier this month.
“South Africa will leverage the Summit as a platform for securing financial and other support for infrastructure development and advancing the G20 Compact with Africa initiative,” Diko added.
South Africa has, since 2010, co-chaired the Development Working Group of the G20.
Ahead of the Summit, Ramaphosa will participate in the BRICS Leaders’ Meeting chaired by Brazil.
President Ramaphosa will also convene the standing trilateral – Egypt as Chair of the African Union (AU) and Senegal (NEPAD President) – on African priorities for the G20 Summit.
Ramaphosa is also scheduled to join the China-Africa Leaders Meeting in which South Africa, Egypt, Senegal and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will participate.
The punishing schedule also includes a series of bilateral meetings with G20 leaders on the sidelines of the Summit as well as addressing a business roundtable with Japanese business leaders in a session chaired by Minister of Trade and Industry Ebrahim Patel.
Ramaphosa will also be accompanied by Minister of Finance Mr Tito Mboweni and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Dr Naledi Pandor.
