PNN – The South African President emphasized the need to expand cooperation among G20 members to overcome the common problems of human society.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, citing Russia Today, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, at the opening ceremony of the G20 summit in Johannesburg, thanked senior officials of countries and senior managers of international institutions for attending the summit and emphasized the importance of expanding cooperation between member countries.
He announced the goal of the G20 summit to find a solution to overcome the common problems of human society.
Read more:
G20 Summit emphasizes achieving just peace in Ukraine and Palestine
Quoting Nelson Mandela, the country’s late leader and hero of the fight against apartheid, the South African official said: It is time for South Africa to find its place in the international community.
Ramaphosa stated that South Africa fully understands its responsibility as a member and rotating chair of the G20, and listed trade, sustainable development, health, science and technology education, energy, climate change, and agriculture as issues that need to be addressed to improve their situation.
The G20 summit began this Saturday in Johannesburg, South Africa; this is the first G20 summit on the African continent.
This year’s summit is marred by disagreements between Washington and the European Union over the future of Ukraine, as well as a stalemate in climate talks in Brazil.
The summit is attended by world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Brazilian President Lula da Silva, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
However, the administration of US President Donald Trump has stated that South Africa’s priorities in the areas of trade cooperation and climate action are not aligned with US policies and the country’s president has refused to attend the summit.
The G20 consists of 19 member countries plus the European Union. The African Union attends some of the group’s meetings as a guest and observer.