The G20 Summit marked a significant moment in the evolution of global economic governance as the leaders of the world’s major economies gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa, from November 22 to 23, 2025. It was the first, G20 leaders summit held on the African continent, underscoring the growing prominence of the Global South in shaping international cooperation. The summit took place against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions, global economic uncertainty, climate stress, rising debt vulnerabilities, and uneven development. The summit concluded with the adoption of a comprehensive Leaders’ Declaration. The Johannesburg declaration reaffirmed the G20’s role as the premier forum for international economic cooperation and reiterated commitments to multilateralism, consensus, and collective responsibility.
Background and Context of the G20
The Group of Twenty (G20) is an intergovernmental forum for international economic cooperation comprising 19 countries along with the European Union and, since 2023, the African Union as a permanent member. It is an informal forum comprising major advanced and emerging economies. Together, its members account for around 85 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP), over 75 per cent of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world’s population.
Established in 1999 in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, G20 was initially focused on macroeconomic stability and financial coordination. Following the 2008 global financial crisis, it was elevated to the leaders’ summit level, expanding their agenda, including climate change, sustainable development, energy, artificial intelligence, and global governance reform.
The G20 functions without a permanent secretariat, operates through an annually rotating presidency supported by a troika of past, present, and incoming presidencies. The annual leaders’ summit represents the culmination of ministerial, working group, and engagement group processes and concludes with the adoption of a leaders’ declaration.
South Africa’s G20 Presidency
South Africa assumed the G20 presidency from Brazil on December 1, 2024, holding it until November 30, 2025. The presidency was historically significant as it was the fourth consecutive G20 presidency led by a country from the Global South and the third in succession by a BRICS member. Guided by the theme Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability, South Africa sought to promote a people-centred, development-oriented, and inclusive vision of global cooperation.
The presidency identified four guiding priorities: strengthening disaster resilience and response; ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries; mobilising finance for a just energy transition; and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development. These priorities reflected continuity with earlier Global South-led presidencies while emphasising Africa’s development challenges and aspirations.
Leaders’ Declaration and Multilateral Commitments
Despite the boycott of the summit by the United States and the absence of several leaders, including those from Argentina, China, Indonesia, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia, the G20 Summit 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa, resulted in the adoption of a lengthy and wide ranging declaration.
The declaration conveyed a clear signal of commitment to multilateral cooperation and acknowledged the deep interdependence of economies, societies, and ecosystems. It reaffirmed adherence to international law, the Charter of the United Nations, and the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes, while condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations as well as attacks against civilians and infrastructure. The declaration emphasised that global challenges such as climate change, pandemic, debt distress, and food insecurity cannot be addressed by countries acting in isolation.
Economic Cooperation and Development Finance The declaration recognised that high levels of debt constrain fiscal space and development prospects, particularly in low-income and climate-vulnerable countries. G20 leaders committed to strengthening the G20 Common Framework for predictable, timely, and coordinated debt treatments, with enhanced transparency. The summit also highlighted the importance of reforming international financial institutions and improving representation, including the creation of the 25th Executive Board chair at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Sub-Saharan Africa. The channelling of over 100 billion dollars in Special Drawing Rights to countries in need was acknowledged as a step towards supporting global financial stability and development.
Climate Action, Energy Transitions, and Disaster Resilience Climate change and disaster resilience featured prominently in the Johannesburg Declaration. Leaders recognised the urgent need to scale up climate finance from billions to trillions of dollars and acknowledged that developing countries require substantial resources to meet their nationally determined contributions before 2030.
The summit emphasised just and inclusive energy transitions, particularly in Africa, where hundreds of millions of people still lack access to electricity. Commitments included support for global tripling renewable energy capacity, advancing Mission 300 to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030, and mobilising finance for sustainable and inclusive energy systems. The declaration further addressed disaster resilience and response as an essential component of sustainable development.
Critical Minerals and Sustainable Value Chains G20 leaders welcomed the adoption of Critical Minerals Framework as a means to secure sustainable, inclusive, and resilient value chains. The declaration emphasised investment in mineral exploration, processing, and local beneficiation in developing countries, recognising the strategic importance of critical minerals for clean energy transitions, digital technologies, and industrial development. The framework sought to balance economic growth with environmental sustainability, responsible mining practices, and equitable development.
Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture Global food security emerged as a central concern, with recognition that hundreds of millions of people experienced hunger in recent years due to conflict, climate shocks, and economic disruptions. The declaration reaffirmed the right to food and emphasised support for smallholder farmers, particularly in Africa. Leaders highlighted the importance of sustainable food systems, implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, and coordinated efforts to address hunger, poverty, and inequality as part of broader sustainable development goals.
Social Development, Gender Equality, and Youth Empowerment The Johannesburg Declaration reaffirmed full commitment to the empowerment of women and girls and the urgent removal of social, legal, and economic barriers to gender equality. Leaders committed to women-led development, equal participation and leadership in decision-making, and accelerated action to eradicate all forms of violence against women and girls. The declaration reaffirmed support for the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and recognised women as agents of peace.
Economic reforms to ensure women’s equal access to resources, finance, and markets were emphasised, alongside increased investment in the care economy guided by the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO’s) 5R (Recognizing, Reducing, Redistributing, Rewarding and Representing) framework.
Youth empowerment was advanced through the adoption of the Nelson Mandela Bay Target, which aims to reduce the rate of young people not in employment, education, or training by five per cent by 2030 from 2024 levels. The revised Brisbane–eThekwini Goal to reduce the gender gap in labour force participation by 25 per cent by 2030 from 2012 levels was reaffirmed.
Health, Pandemic Preparedness, and Innovation The declaration recognised the central role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in global health governance and underscored the importance of adequate, predictable, and sustainable financing. Leaders highlighted investments in health as drivers of stability, growth, and resilience, with domestic public financing complemented by international support.
Commitments included advancing universal health coverage, strengthening health systems, investing in mental health, and recognising the potential role of evidence-based traditional complementary medicine. The summit welcomed progress towards the WHO Pandemic Agreement and reaffirmed commitments to pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. Continued support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria was acknowledged as vital for global health security.
Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence, and Education Bridging digital divides, including halving the gender digital divide by 2030, was reaffirmed as a priority. The leaders emphasised universal and meaningful connectivity, secure digital infrastructure, and a human-centred digital economy that protects human rights. Digital public infrastructure was recognised as transformative for inclusive and sustainable development.
The declaration addressed artificial intelligence, highlighting the need for safe, secure, and trustworthy development, equitable benefit-sharing, and capacity-building in developing regions, particularly Africa.
Education commitments included advancing early childhood care and education as a vital investment, strengthening the teaching profession, equipping educators with skills for the 2030 core competencies, and addressing digital access and connectivity gaps. Recognition of qualifications and cooperation under UNESCO conventions were supported to enhance mobility and mutual recognition in higher education.
Governance, Anti-Corruption, and Migration The G20 maintained zero tolerance against corruption and reaffirmed commitments to integrity, accountability, and transparency.
The leaders committed to implementing international legal instruments, strengthening asset recovery, protecting whistleblowers, and denying safe haven to corrupt offenders.
Migration and forced displacement were addressed through commitments to support migrants, respect human rights, prevent irregular migration and strengthen cooperation among countries of origin, transit, and destination.
Outreach, Inclusion, and the G20@20 Review
The summit reinforced the African Union as a full member of the G20 in its second year, emphasising the amplification of Africa’s voice in international fora. The G20@20 review initiated by the South African Presidency was welcomed as an effort to assess the forum’s evolution and effectiveness. Outreach to non-government stakeholders was strengthened through initiatives and engagement with civil society, academia, media, and the private sector.
India at G20 2025
India played a significant role in shaping outcomes of this summit by ensuring continuity with the priorities of its own G20 presidency. Indian efforts ensured that issues and priorities of the Global South were reflected in the Leaders’ Declaration. India emphasised condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, supported calls for reform of the United Nations Security Council to improve representation of underrepresented regions and highlighted sustainable production and consumption patterns, including lifestyles for sustainable development. India proposed initiatives focused on countering the drug-terror nexus, strengthening skills in Africa through a G20-Africa Skills Multiplier initiative, establishing a Global Healthcare Response Team, creating a Global Traditional Knowledge Repository, promoting an Open Satellite Data Partnership, and advancing a Critical Minerals Circularity Initiative. India’s approach to artificial intelligence stressed access, skilling, responsible deployment, and the need for global cooperation.
Way forward
This summit concluded with a reaffirmation of commitment to the G20 as the premier forum for international economic cooperation, operating in the spirit of multilateralism and consensus. Leaders expressed gratitude to South Africa for its leadership and committed to continued cooperation under future presidencies, including the United States in 2026, the United Kingdom in 2027, and the Republic of Korea in 2028.
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