Commentary by Rania Aboelkheir*
The two-day 19th G20 Leaders’ Summit concluded on Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, under the title of “Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet,” with the participation of G20 members and invitees from some other countries.
The G20 plays a significant role in today’s world, as it represents more than 80 percent of global GDP, 75 percent of international trade, and around two-thirds of the world’s population.
Despite its political and economic weight, the group faces mounting challenges, including repercussions of the Ukrainian crisis and escalating regional crises, such as the ongoing Israel-Palestine and Israel-Lebanon conflicts.
Therefore, global economic issues took center stage at the summit, which focused on implementing measures to ease the impact of successive international crises on developing countries.
This summit marked the first gathering of G20 leaders since the African Union (AU) achieved full membership status at last year’s summit in the Indian capital of New Delhi. This membership came as a result of years of persistent African diplomatic efforts to strengthen the continent’s global role in line with its capabilities and potential, in order to promote a fairer governance system.
This recognition underscores Africa’s strength in shaping the features of the global future, as the continent represents an active part of the Global South, which will contribute to reforming the global economic system away from the dominance of international economic institutions that emerged after World War II.
The AU joining has granted Africa a powerful status in formulating trade agreements with other G20 members, and enables it to attract more investments in priority areas aligned with the AU Agenda 2063.
It also enables African countries to participate more actively in decision-making on issues that directly affect Africa, including climate change, migration, food security and energy, as well as issues related to granting more loans to developing countries by multilateral institutions and reforming the international debt structure.
However, the continent’s success in gaining G20 membership remains subject to the ability of African countries to present a unified voice within the group.
Global South countries often lack genuine platforms to voice their development needs and rights. This imbalance, driven by developed countries’ dominance in financial institutions, hinders the progress of many development projects.
To counter this, China has proposed a vision related to common development and a community with a shared future for mankind, which encourages G20 members to reconsider their orientations in line with the development requirements of the Global South.
In fact, China has supported many Global South countries in searching for fair and equitable solutions to the debt crises that constrain their capabilities to develop.
China has also established infrastructure projects that drive common development in many African countries, strengthening their negotiating positions within the G20 to ensure the establishment of a world with a shared future.
The G20, with its economic status and political role in championing global economic governance, bears a major responsibility to address global challenges. Thus, it is necessary to listen to the voices of the wider world, including that of the Global South, that aspire for a more secure, stable, just, and fair future.
*Rania Aboelkheir is the secretary-general of the Global Forum for Future Studies, an Egyptian think tank.
