South Africa hosts the G20 leaders summit this weekend. (@G20org/X)
With the presidents of the United States, China and Russia not coming to the G20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg at the weekend, the eyes of the world will be on President Cyril Ramaphosa, who must rise to the occasion and use South Africa’s presidency of the bloc to show the country is ready for the big stage and to take its place in global politics.
The absence of Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, the leaders of the world’s three most powerful countries, leaves Ramaphosa in pole position to show South Africa is not in the G20 just to make up numbers; that it is not on the menu, but sitting at the table and offering solutions to global challenges.
While it would have given SA’s presidency a major boost if the presidents of fellow Brics member countries attended in person, the host can still deliver one of the best summits in the history of the G20.
It is clear that despite its own challenges, including inequality, unemployment and unacceptable levels of crime, South Africa represents a key voice on behalf of Africa, and that this summit must meet the expectations of the continent and the Global South, where it already plays a role as a Brics member.
The absence of the US is a cause for concern, but must not be allowed to shift focus from the challenges this gathering seeks to address and the many solutions it must present to make the world a better place for all.
Trump’s infantile approach to SA’s G20 presidency and it being the first African country to host the leaders summit must be understood in the context of the US’s disengagement policy that seeks to entrench American hegemony in a changing geopolitical climate in which everyone must not only have a voice, but also decide their own future.
For example, the US — the world’s largest historical emitter — has this year also boycotted COP30 in Brazil for the first time in the history of the climate summit. But despite the US’s absence there, nearly 60 000 delegates have registered to attend, making it one of the largest gatherings in COP history.
The world is not going to wait for Trump and the US to come to the party. This era of US dominance and holding the world hostage is slowly but surely fading.
The weekend’s G20 summit in Johannesburg will be yet another opportunity for the world to show Trump our future can be decided without him in the room.
And for South Africa, this is an opportunity to prove to the world that our geographical location is not a handicap, but rather an asset.
Just like we silenced critics by hosting one of the best Soccer World Cup tournaments in Fifa history in 2010 — again the first time in Africa — we have an opportunity this weekend to host the best G20 summit in history.
The stage is ours.