Guwahati: The G20 Summit, hosted under South Africa’s presidency, saw an unusual start on Sunday, November 23, as member nations unanimously adopted the joint declaration on the very first day, despite the United States boycotting the event. US President Donald Trump did not attend the summit, expressing displeasure with South Africa’s chairmanship. Leaders from China and Russia, however, were present.
Rejecting Washington’s objection, all G20 member countries approved the declaration, which includes commitments on climate change and other sensitive global issues. Typically, such declarations are adopted on the final day of the summit, making this year’s early approval a significant deviation from tradition.
Following the adoption, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a clear message to the United States. “We have worked for a year on this declaration. There is no scope for reconsideration,” he said, indirectly addressing the US stance.
The US was scheduled to assume the next G20 presidency, but with President Trump skipping the summit, Washington is expected to send an official to represent the country during the closing session. South Africa, however, has made it clear that it will not hand over the presidency to an official delegate, declaring that the responsibility will be symbolically passed to an empty chair.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with President Ramaphosa, where the two leaders discussed several areas of mutual cooperation. On the sidelines of the summit, Modi also participated in the IBSA (India–Brazil–South Africa) meeting along with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. The leaders reviewed cooperation under the trilateral platform and discussed global challenges, including terrorism.