G-20 Summit Ends after Adopting Declaration on First Day

Johannesburg, Nov. 23 (Jiji Press)–The Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies wrapped up their two-day summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Sunday after adopting a leaders’ declaration on the first day. With U.S. President Donald Trump’s boycott of the Johannesburg meeting, it had been feared that the G-20 would be unable to issue a leader’s statement for the first time since the inaugural summit of the framework was held in 2008. But participating leaders adopted the latest declaration, which reaffirmed the importance of the G-20 as the “premier forum for international economic cooperation,” on Saturday, without the United States. Next year’s G-20 summit is scheduled to be hosted by the United States. South Africa, chair of the latest summit, came up with three themes for the Johannesburg meeting–solidarity, equality and sustainability–from its position as one of the Global South emerging countries. The declaration noted the leaders’ concerns over “increasing global economic uncertainty and fragmentation,” and stressed the importance of “multilateral cooperation to collectively address shared challenges.” Trump boycotted the Johannesburg summit, unilaterally arguing that the South African government is persecuting minority white people in the country. He vowed to block the adoption of the leaders’ declaration. But South African President Cyril Ramaphosa pushed the adoption, citing overwhelming support from other participating leaders. From Japan, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office last month, joined the Johannesburg meeting, marking her first participation in a G-20 summit. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]