G-20 Adopts Leaders’ Declaration without U.S.

Johannesburg, Nov. 22 (Jiji Press)–The group of 20 advanced and emerging economies adopted a leaders’ declaration at a meeting that started Saturday, but without the participation of U.S. President Donald Trump, who boycotted the two-day summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, through Sunday. It is unprecedented for a U.S. president to skip a G-20 summit. Trump refused to take part in the Johannesburg meeting, claiming that minority white people have been persecuted by the South African government. South Africa, the chair of the summit, has set three main agenda items–strengthening disaster resilience, ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development. From Japan, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attended the meeting, underscoring the importance of the multilateral trade system, vowing to make contributions to debates on reforming the World Trade Organization and highlighting the significance of realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific region by developing a rules-based free and fair international economic order, among other things. It is the first time for Takaichi, who took office last month, to join a G-20 summit. Trump fully rejected the U.S. government’s participation in the ongoing summit as he also opposes the agenda items. Meanwhile, Premier Li Qiang is representing China, the world’s second-largest economy, at the G-20 summit on behalf of President Xi Jinping. The leaders’ declaration emphasized the importance of multilateral cooperation to address risks and challenges to the global economy while calling for accelerating efforts to combat climate change. It also said that artificial intelligence and other advanced digital technologies should be used to reduce inequalities and promote sustainable development. The declaration was adopted with support from many countries and obtained overwhelming agreement, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in an opening address. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]