South Africa Urges Cooperation to Tackle Modern Challenges as Continent Hosts Its First G20 Meeting

"Our modern-day challenges can only be resolved through collaboration, partnership and solidarity. As a premier forum for international economic cooperation, the G20 needs to play a leading role in the global agenda for people, planet and prosperity. As we strive towards a common purpose, let us remember that cooperation is our greatest strength. Let us seek to find common ground through constructive engagement. Through the G20, let us set the coordinates of a new course for human progress, one that is founded on solidarity, equality and sustainability," Ramaphosa stated, launching the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Johannesburg.

"The summit's location underscores the need for African voices to be heard on critical global issues, like sustainable development, the digital economy, and the shift toward green energy. It is a great opportunity to promote greater collaboration between African nations and the rest of the world," he pointed out.

"While the essential goals of the United Nations remain, the world has changed in fundamental ways. The UN must change accordingly. We continue to call for the UN Security Council, the multilateral trading system and the international financial architecture to be reformed to make them more representative, more agile and more responsive to today’s global realities," he noted.