During the meeting, Zane Dangor spoke about the importance of continuing to work with multilateral institutions, including the United Nations, to address global challenges
South Africa hosted the second virtual meeting of the G20 Sherpas, where the officials assessed the preparations of South Africa to host the summit scheduled to be held in Johannesburg in November, TV BRICS reported. During the meeting, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation Director-General Zane Dangor spoke about the importance of continuing to work with multilateral institutions, including the United Nations, to address global challenges. He stressed that South Africa is counting on the support of G20 nations and invited nations and international organisations to make the summit a success.
Dangor said, “The objective for today is let’s take stock of what has happened and where we need to improve, but what are the key issues that may need special attention for the negotiations,” TV BRICS reported. During the meeting, India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant stressed that the G20 nations should work together to overcome global challenges. Representatives of the UAE, Ahmed Al Sayegh, Minister of State and UAE G20 Sherpa, as well as Mahash Al Hameli, UAE Ambassador to South Africa and UAE Sous Sherpa, participated in the meeting, TV BRICS reported, citing Emirati Foreign Ministry’s press office. The delegates stressed the UAE’s active participation in G20 working groups in several priority areas, including culture, education, women’s empowerment, artificial intelligence, digital economy, climate, and other areas. South Africa has invited UAE to attend the G20 Summit in November as a guest state. According to the report, South Africa will participate in the summit for the sixth time. South Africa assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1 last year. The theme for South Africa’s G20 Presidency is ‘Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability.’ The theme guides the priorities of the Working Groups in both the Sherpa and Finance Tracks and also informs the High-Level Deliverables of South Africa’s G20 Presidency, according to the official statement. The G20 comprises 19 countries – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the European Union, and the African Union. G20 members include the world’s major economies, representing 85 per cent of global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population.
Meanwhile, an Africa Expert Panel, chaired by former Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, has been established by South Africa’s Presidency of the G20 from the beginning of December in an effort to raise initiatives to tackle the unprecedented debt crisis among many African countries. South Africa assumed the G20 Presidency from December 2024 until the end of November 2025.
The G20 comprises 19 of the world’s most systemically important countries and includes the African Union and European Union.
The Presidency means that the G20 meetings, such as the G20 Finance Minister and Reserve Bank Governor meetings held in Cape Town last month, are being held on African soil for the first time and provide an opportunity for South Africa to focus the G20 on issues pertinent to Africa.
The government said Wednesday in a statement that this year African countries will pay close to US$89 billion in external debt service alone, with 20 low-income countries at risk of debt distress.
More than half of Africa’s 1.3 billion people live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on social issues such as health, education, and infrastructure.
“This level of debt is unsustainable and undermines efforts towards sustainable development and poverty alleviation. There is a need for bold and urgent action on a comprehensive plan to deal with high levels of debt in Africa and other developing countries,” the statement said.
The overall strategy of the panel will be to offer strategic advice by exploring and defining strategies that advance Africa’s collective interests through increased voice, effective representation, and the achievement of a reformed and all-inclusive global economic policy through the G20. The Panel will produce a “High-Level Report” with its key recommendations.
The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors will convene for a two-day meeting from April 23-24, 2025, on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, USA.
This meeting, part of the Finance Track under South Africa’s G20 presidency, will gather Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of G20 member countries, invited countries, and international organisations to discuss global economic challenges, financial stability, and policies aimed at fostering economic growth.
The Finance Track is co-chaired by Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, and South African Reserve Bank Governor, Lesetja Kganyago.
