AFRICA'S MOMENT

THE SPOTLIGHT IS ON THE HISTORIC G20 LEADERS' SUMMIT IN JOHANNESBURG FROM NOVEMBER 22-23, BUT THE REAL TEST IS WHETHER IT WILL MOVE BEYOND COMMUNIQUÉS AND TOWARD FRAMEWORKS THAT CHANNEL FUNDING INTO CONCRETE, NEEDLE-MOVING PROJECTS ON THE CONTINENT.

- by Paula Slier

For the first time, this November, the world's most influential economies will meet on African soil as South Africa hosts the annual G20 Leaders' Summit.

The gathering will bring together the world's major economies to coordinate global economic policy, trade, and development issues. South Africa has embraced the theme, Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability, for its G20 Presidency, setting the tone for African priorities to dominate discussions in a way they've rarely done before.

South Africa has promised that the voices of the Global South will not only be heard but placed firmly at the center of the conversation. President Cyril Ramaphosa has been clear that his country's presidency's goal has been to reframe global governance to reflect a multipolar world. While poverty, debt relief, climate change, energy transitions, food security and industrialization are all issues that weigh heavily on Africa, they are also global challenges. By drawing the world's attention to these, Ramaphosa hopes to show that what matters on the continent matters everywhere.

Benji Shulman, Executive Director of the Middle East Africa Research Institute, a nonprofit that translates and analyzes media from the Middle East and South Asia, believes this is Africa's chance to lead the conversation rather than chase it. He tells FORBES AFRICA: “Africa finds itself in a unique position in the world today, having strong natural resources in the form of both minerals and young people. However, neither of these is a guarantee of a peaceful, prosperous future. Thus, the G20 is an opportunity for the continent to take advantage of its position for the betterment of its own future and reject extremist and authoritarian ideologies that threaten to take it towards a violent and unproductive circumstance.”