Minister Lamola’s pre-recorded keynote address at a special session on G20 to the virtual global town hall 2025, Jakarta, Indonesia
Host: Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI).
Theme: The future we want
Dear delegates,
Esteemed colleagues,
Friends,
It is a great honour to deliver this message on behalf of the President of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa. It is also an honour to address this virtual town hall coordinated from Jakarta, Indonesia.
It is not lost on me that Indonesia was the cradle of the historic Bandung Conference, whose 70th anniversary we observe this year.
The gathering brought together Asian and African nations, united by their resolve to unshackle themselves from all traces of colonialism.
Although the world has changed significantly since 1955, the spirit of Bandung is as relevant today as it was then.
The ideals of respect for fundamental human rights, self-determination, solidarity, and the peaceful settlement of disputes remain the foundation upon which a just global order must stand.
It is in this same spirit that South Africa approached its G20 presidency. Ours forms part of a longer lineage of presidencies of the global South, beginning with Indonesia and followed by India and Brazil.
This year also marks a historic moment. For the first time, the African Union participates as a full member of the G20. For the first time, the G20 meets on African soil. This has not only been South Africa’s G20 but also, indeed, Africa’s G20.
When we took the mantle from Brazil in December 2024, we were clear that our presidency would sharpen the focus on a more just and inclusive global order.
This continuity finds expression in our motto of Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability. These are not abstract ideals. They echo the aspirations of people across the world who seek dignity, opportunity, and a better future for their children.
During our presidency, we have centred our work on priorities that reflect the concerns and hopes of the developing world. Working closely with the African Union, we have sought to ensure that Africa’s voice, Africa’s choices and Africa’s ambitions occupy their rightful place in global decision-making.
To understand the future we desire, it is essential to speak clearly about the one we must avoid.
The first danger we face is the widening crisis of unsustainable debt.
Well over 3 billion people live in countries that spend more on servicing debt than on health care.
More than 60 developing countries allocate 10% or more of government revenues to interest payments.
The space for governments to meet their citizens’ needs is shrinking. If we continue this path, the world risks condemning entire regions to decades of delayed development.
This is not the future we want.
This reality explains the first priority of our G20 presidency: debt sustainability for low-income countries. We have established an African Experts Panel to examine barriers to growth, including the high cost of capital.
We continue to call for greater debt transparency and for a global approach to debt that puts development and human needs at the heart of decision-making.
The second and third priorities address the need for global action on disaster resilience and response as well as predictable, increased financing for a just energy transition.
To underline this point, Africa contributes the least to the climate crisis yet faces the most significant risks. Despite this, the continent receives less than 5% of global climate finance.
This is not a basis for a stable and sustainable future.
Our fourth priority is to harness critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development. As the world accelerates its shift to clean energy and digital technologies, demand for these minerals is rising sharply. This global hunger can either usher in a new era of prosperity or accelerate extraction and plunder in resource-rich regions.
This is why we have placed on the G20 agenda a Critical Minerals Framework to promote beneficiation at source and to ensure that equity, sustainability and justice anchor this new global quest for critical minerals.
Alongside these priorities, our presidency has advanced several important initiatives. Among them:
A review of the G20’s work at twenty years to assess progress against past commitments and consider how the G20 can remain fit for purpose.
A panel of experts led by Nobel laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz to examine the drivers and consequences of global inequality. The panel champions the creation of an International Panel on Inequality.
As we reflect on the future we need, I wish to close with three messages.
First, international relations and the future we seek are too important to be left to governments alone. Civil society and people-to-people solidarity are essential to any global agenda.
Second, the warning signs are clear. If we fail to act now, future generations will inherit a world none of us would choose.
Third, even amid rising geopolitical tensions and disregard for international law, we cannot lose faith in partnership and multilateral cooperation.
Civil society everywhere remains vital for its commitment to dialogue and the capacity to imagine alternatives.
I wish you well in your deliberations and look forward to your ideas on how, together, we can bend the arc of our world towards solidarity, equality, and sustainability.
I thank you.
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