South Africa braces for G20 Summit

Transcript

00:00Johannesburg's Nazarek Expo Center is where global leaders will converge for the historic

00:11G20 summit on November 22nd.

00:14The two-day gathering will include several meetings where ideas, clashes and compromises

00:19will now come to a heed.

00:21Our preparations have gone so well, we have been working on this since we took the presidency

00:27from Brazil last year in December.

00:31So up to thus far we have no hesitation that everything will go well in terms of our infrastructure.

00:39South Africa's push for equality, solidarity and sustainability has played out against

00:44a backdrop of geopolitical rifts, wards and splintering global trade.

00:49The finance track, the engine room of the G20, failed to reach consensus on critical issues

00:55like debt relief and climate finance, setting the tone for most of the discussions.

01:00We shouldn't expect much that those that have had a very checkered history against us historically

01:06will deliver something better.

01:08That is why it is important for us in the global south, with our partners in Asia, in Latin America

01:13and Africa to work together to really reverse years of dependency on the global north and

01:20America in particular.

01:22Still, there were some green shoots, agreements on cleaner cooking, tackling air pollution,

01:28fighting wildlife crime and the urgent need to strengthen global food security.

01:32We will all likelihood emerge as the bread basket for the rest of the world.

01:38And so Africa does need to be included in these high-level meetings.

01:43And I think that South Africa's G20, despite some very challenging geopolitical aspects.

01:48But can South Africa's championing of the global south turn into concrete results?

01:54Residents of the country weighed in.

01:56We have done a good job in making, in emphasizing that we must remember the spirit of Ubuntu and

02:04building resilient communities and sustainability.

02:06It takes us back to putting the person, people at the center of everything.

02:09That is what Africans are about, the spirit of Ubuntu.

02:12I'm hoping that it's not just words, but, you know, there'll be action.

02:17Because, you know, with our leaders, even the government, they say things, but there's no action.

02:22So I'm hoping that everything that has been said there, it's positive, but I'm hoping for a change.

02:27If governments can seriously listen to its communities, this world will definitely and most certainly be a better place.

02:37Where all civil societies of all of these G20 countries come together and we display what we have in common,

02:45in terms of language, in terms of culture, in terms of challenges.

02:49Other divisions have also led to other obstacles.

02:52South Africa's G20 presidency has been overshadowed by Pretoria's diplomatic standoff with the United States.

03:00Washington has indicated it will not attend, prompting President Cyril Ramaphosa to say

03:06he'll symbolically hand over the G20 presidency to an empty chair in the absence of the U.S. leadership.

03:13Still, he insists mending relations with Washington remains paramount.