Leverage G20 presidency for African youth's priorities

The Group of 20 (G20), established in 1999, is an intergovernmental economic forum of the world’s largest economies.

- Sikhululekile Mashingaidze

The 2024-25 series of meetings is an important moment for Africa.

The African Union’s presence at last year’s G20 summit represented its first participation as a full G20 member while this year South Africa holds the presidency. These two developments are a watershed moment and a test for the group’s avowed inclusivity.

These developments have placed high expectations upon the AU and South Africa pertaining to their ability to effectively amplify Africa’s priorities.

South Africa holds an important position in the G20. As professor of international development law Daniel Bradlow has argued: “South Africa is the only African country that is a member of the G20 and thus participates in all G20 meetings and is eligible to participate in all G20 working groups. This means that although South Africa is not formally the designated representative of Africa in the G20, it is expected to pay attention to the concerns and interests of the rest of the continent in regard to the G20. This places South Africa in an unusual position in the G20 and increases the challenges that it faces as the only African member in the G20.”

South Africa’s tenure is a significant opportunity for advancing the continent's priorities. But this comes at a complex, geopolitically turbulent time in which years of established foundations for peace and security are daily threatened. Russia’s war in Ukraine, Israel’s in Gaza and the wars in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan are testimony to this turbulence.

Added to this is the pressure from the rising demand for critical minerals and the pursuit of a just energy transition, the pressures of climate change and environmental stress and a general fragility in global governance systems.