G20 summit boycotted by US set to get underway

South Africa will host the G20 summit this weekend, aiming to secure commitments on debt relief for developing countries and to tackle global inequalities as the United States boycotts the event.

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A general view of a billboard showing heads of states of the G20 countries outside the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

(AFP)

US President Donald Trump, who has clashed with South Africa over its G20 agenda, is skipping the summit amid a wider US retreat from multilateralism that has rattled global order.

President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters ahead of the Nov 22-23 event that the US absence is “their loss”.

The United States is the most powerful of the 19 countries in the G20, which represents 85% of global GDP and about two-thirds of the world’s population, and also includes the European Union and the African Union.

The US boycott echoes Mr Trump's decision not to send an official delegation to the COP30 summit in Brazil.