External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar will attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) in Johannesburg, South Africa, on February 20-21, at the invitation of the Republic of South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Wednesday.
“EAM’s participation in the G20 FMM will strengthen India’s engagement with G20 countries while also strengthening the Global South’s voice in this important forum.” The EAM is expected to attend a few bilateral talks in the margins of the FMM,” according to a MEA statement issued prior to the visit.
The summit would be the first Foreign Ministers’ summit conducted during South Africa’s G20 presidency, with the subject ‘Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability’.
South Africa’s G20 Presidency began on December 1, 2024 and will finish on November 30, only five years before the deadline of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda.
President Cyril Ramaphosa insisted that South Africa’s G20 presidency comes at a time when the world is dealing with a number of overlapping and mutually reinforcing crises, including climate change, underdevelopment, inequality, poverty, hunger, unemployment, technological changes, and geopolitical instability.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has declared that he will not attend the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting as tensions between South Africa and the United States intensify.
In response, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola stated that since taking over the G20 chair from Brazil, South Africa has suggested addressing a variety of concerns, including mounting indebtedness in emerging nations.
“Solidarity encourages communal problem solving. Our G20 presidency focusses not just on climate change, but also on equitable treatment of states in the Global South, creating an egalitarian global system for all. “These are important principles that we continue to pursue and engage the United States on,” Lamola added.
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