G20 summit opens in South Africa with participation of BRICS leaders

The G20 leaders’ summit opened in Johannesburg (South Africa) on 22 November. Among the participants are the heads of BRICS countries: Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The Chinese delegation is headed by Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Qiang, and the Russian delegation is led by Presidential Aide Maksim Oreshkin. Indonesia’s position will be presented by the Vice President of the Republic, Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

For the first time in the history of the G20, the summit is being held in Africa. South Africa has chosen “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability” as the motto of its presidency. According to CGTN commentator Han Xuling, after the African Union became a permanent member of the G20, the representation of the countries of the Global South within the group has grown significantly.

“Both sides [China and Africa] are committed to a multilateral approach and a multipolar world. At the SCO Tianjin Summit in September, President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping put forward the Global Governance Initiative, which provides a very clear answer to the question of what the global governance system should be. And the principles of ‘solidarity, equality and sustainable development’ promoted by South Africa are essentially very similar to this initiative. The ideas contained in the African Union’s Agenda 2063 also resonate with it,” he added in an exclusive comment to CGTN, a partner of TV BRICS.

The summit programme is divided into two days. On the first day, 22 November, the leaders will discuss inclusive and sustainable economic growth, international trade, food systems and the reduction of social inequality in developing countries. They will touch upon issues of disaster risk reduction, climate change and the green energy transition. The next day, the agenda will include matters of the fair use of mineral resources, the development of artificial intelligence and decent working conditions.

According to Mikhail Khachaturyan, Candidate of Economic Sciences and Associate Professor of the Department of Strategic and Innovative Development at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, the summit will also consider issues of restoring the effectiveness of trade regulation within the World Trade Organization (WTO), maintaining the stability of the global monetary system, and reforms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United Nations (UN).

“As for the BRICS+ countries, the most significant issue for us at the G20 will be to enhance the degree of mutual coordination of actions in multilateral formats to address matters of global trade regulation, particularly the transition to settlements in national currencies and the formation of mechanisms for currency coordination within BRICS+,” he added in an exclusive comment to TV BRICS.

The TV BRICS International Media Network is an officially accredited media outlet at the G20 summit in Johannesburg.

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