Against all odds and with several empty chairs among the great leaders, The G20 managed this Saturday to carry out the final declaration of its annual summit in Johannesburg. The South African presidency announced that the document obtained an “overwhelming” support, despite the fact that the United States decided to be absent from the debates.
South Africa, at the head of the forum since December 2024, celebrated the approval of the text in Johannesburg as a “clear signal” that multilateralism, Despite the blows of recent years, “it is still capable of delivering results.” A more nuanced version than the one offered hours before by the presidential spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, who even spoke of “unanimity among all the countries present.”
The adoption of the statement came in an unusual way: on Friday, in full bilateral rounds, Several leaders raised the idea of approving the text as the first act of the following day, instead of leaving it for the closing of the summit, as is usual. A script change that allowed Saturday’s session to start with the agreement already sealed.
Magwenya stressed that the advance was possible thanks to previous technical workwith ministers and delegations negotiating the most sensitive points until the end of Friday. From that effort came the document that finally received the approval of the heads of State and Government.
Although the full content has not yet been made public, the spokesperson announced that the text reaffirms the central role of the UN Charter as a compass for managing international disputes, avoid the use of force and promote peaceful ways to resolve conflicts.
Furthermore, the declaration identifies four global crises that are of particular concern to the forum: those of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Ukraine and Palestinepointing out the need to prioritize diplomatic and humanitarian efforts in these scenarios.
The summit started marked by the loudest absence: that of the United States. Donald Trump decided to boycott the meeting, claiming that Afrikaners in South Africa are being “murdered and massacred” and that their lands are “illegally expropriated”, accusations that Pretoria rejects as false. Even so, Ramaphosa revealed that Washington notified a slight change in position at the last minute.
Instead of Trump or a senior official, the U.S. will send only the charge d’affaires of its embassy in Pretoria, Marc Dillard, but only for Sunday’s ceremony in which South Africa will hand over the G20 presidency to the United States, which will assume leadership on December 1. The White House made it clear that it will not participate in the debates.
Beyond Washington, the absences accumulated: they did not attend Xi Jinping, Javier Milei, Vladimir Putin and Claudia Sheinbaumeach one for different reasons. Even so, nearly forty leaders, including members and guests—including Spain—are present in Johannesburg for a summit that has managed to save, at least, its final document.
