Foreign ministers descend on Joburg to deliberate geopolitical tensions as Trump upturns global order

Foreign ministers of the Group of 20 (G20) will descend on Johannesburg on Thursday, 21 February for deliberations on a thorny agenda of geopolitical tensions — from Israel’s war in Gaza to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The two-day talks come as South Africa and other G20 member states have been scalded by the realignment of US foreign policy under President Donald Trump and the country’s rapid slide into isolation, with the US snubbing allies in Europe and established conventions to forge its own diplomatic path, including meeting with Russia in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday to discuss the war in Ukraine.

In years past, analysts have questioned how much has been achieved by the G20, which is fraught with divisions over how to deal with global conflicts and crises.

It is the first time an African nation will preside over this major grouping of countries. President Cyril Ramaphosa has set out a G20 agenda that speaks to diversity, equality and sustainability — values which Trump has opposed.

In a statement on Wednesday night, Ramaphosa said the meeting would reflect on SA’s G20 presidency deliverables and a review of the G20, “which examines the impact of the G20 during the two decades of its existence”.

“South Africa’s G20 presidency carries tremendous responsibility, given that the decisions taken by the G20 can impact the lives of all members of the global community — notably the most vulnerable and needy,” said G20 sous sherpa Nokukhanya Jele at a press conference at Nasrec, Johannesburg, on Wednesday.

Jele said at the core of its G20 presidency SA aimed to secure global progress on shared goals.

“The world faces a myriad of global challenges and continued sustainable development reversals. The current global situation suggests that the international community requires a profound paradigm shift characterised by solidarity, harmony and mutual respect. In this regard, the G20 has a significant role to play in fostering global cooperation, collaboration and partnership to address these challenges and achieve sustainable development.”

She said the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, in particular, “has grown in importance and has become a valuable forum for discussions on a wide range of international issues and matters of concern.

“G20 foreign ministers are uniquely placed to monitor global risks, convene dialogues on strategic matters and encourage cooperation to revive multilateralism in addressing global challenges.”

Who comprises the G20?

The G20 comprises 19 countries, the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU). In addition to South Africa, its member states are Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the US and the UK. That equals 21, but the nomenclature of the G20 remains.

South Africa, as the host of the G20 in 2025, has invited several countries to participate as guests.

Read more: Trump, trade tariffs and a golden opportunity – the strategic role South Africa will play in G20 discussions in the next year

Spain is part of the G20 as a permanent guest. Other invitees which G20 sous sherpa Xolisa Mabhongo said would participate in the entire G20 process ahead of the summit in November, include Egypt, Ireland, Nigeria, Norway, Singapore, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Algeria, Ethiopia, Angola and the Netherlands.

Finland, Denmark, New Zealand and Portugal will also partake in specific G20 working groups which are of interest to them.

SA has made strategic decisions about the inclusion of some of its guests. First, the inclusion of several African nations as invitees is in line with Pretoria’s intention to have the continent’s interests foreground its G20 agenda.

Nigeria is pushing for G20 membership, and Ramaphosa has backed the country’s bid to join the bloc. Egypt, Ethiopia and the UAE are also newly minted BRICS+ allies. South Africa aims to build on its success in hosting the 2023 BRICS Summit, which delivered the expansion of the bloc — a foreign policy triumph, reported Daily Maverick.

Who is attending — and who is not?

Mabhongo said all G20 members would be represented at the foreign ministers’ meeting and all the invited guests had confirmed their attendance.

“There is no absence of major powers,” he said.

Of the G20 member states, 15 will be represented by foreign ministers and four — Germany, Mexico, Indonesia and Argentina — will be represented by deputy ministers, according to Mabhongo. He added that these countries were being represented by deputies “for various reasons”, citing Germany’s snap national election as an example.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not be attending the gathering with his G20 counterparts, after he said he would snub the talks because of South Africa’s land reform policies. The US chargé d’affaires to South Africa, Dana Brown, will attend the meeting as Rubio’s representative.

Read more: Acting US ambassador to attend high-level G20 meeting in Joburg in Rubio’s absence

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will attend, as will Russia’s Sergey Lavrov. Analysts see this as an opening for Russia and China to show strength, according to a Reuters report.

South Africa has increasingly found itself in the crosshairs of the Trump administration.

Diplomatic tensions between the two countries have grown in recent weeks following Trump’s repeated claims that South Africa is seizing land under its new Expropriation Act.

On Wednesday night, The New York Times reported that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will skip next week’s meeting of the G20 finance ministers and central bankers. This comes a day after the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) head of public diplomacy Clayson Monyela said on X that Bessent would attend.

Mabhongo was confident the tensions between the US and SA would not derail South Africa’s G20 agenda.

“Our expectation is that there will be a focus on the agenda we have set as South Africa. From conversations we have had with all other members, we do not expect difficulty,” he said.

He said SA would be “taking lessons” from the G20 presidencies of Brazil — which hosted the G20 in 2024 — India and Indonesia so the issue did not derail the work of the G20. Mabhongo said SA would propose to the other G20 members that geopolitical issues be discussed solely by sherpas and foreign ministers, and leaders in November.

What is on the agenda?

Foreign ministers will discuss geopolitical tensions and South Africa’s G20 priorities at the two-day talks in Johannesburg.

Read more: Geopolitical tensions pose unprecedented challenges for SA’s G20 presidency during Trump 2.0

Ramaphosa is expected to address the opening session of the foreign ministers’ meeting on Thursday, after which the ministers will meet to deliberate on the geopolitical situation. Mabhongo said the ministers were expected to talk about several core issues, including the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

“One of the reasons that we have convened the meeting of the foreign ministers is so that they can reflect on the geopolitical situation that the world faces today and see how the G2o can position itself to respond,” said Mabhongo.

On Friday, the ministers will deliberate on SA’s four G20 priorities:

• Strengthening disaster 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.

What will the meeting produce?

South Africa’s ability to forge consensus in the face of deepening global divisions will be a defining challenge to its G20 presidency.

However, Mabhongo told reporters there would be no negotiated outcome document from the meeting, but rather the issuance of a chair’s summary after the gathering.

It is not the first time that a chair’s summary will be issued. A meeting of the G20 finance ministers and central bank heads in February last year failed to agree on a joint statement because of divisions on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Brazil, which hosted the meeting, issued its own summary instead of a joint communique. DM