Until now, participants this absence has not defer their efforts, on the contrary, as multilateralism is at stake and at the same time Africa and the global south gained through this year of South Africa's presidency a louder voice in the international group.
Anna Kelly, US deputy press secretary, posted on X that this announcement was fake news.
South Africa's G20 main theme was "Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability", and a promise to focus on supporting developing countries through debt relief and financing measures to cope with disasters caused by climate change.
Yet, it was only branded by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in February as "anti-American"; he then skipped the first meetings of G20 ministers, setting the tone for a complicated year for South Africa.
This didn't discourage Pretoria, which put debt relief as a priority, especially repayments limiting investments in essential infrastructure for healthcare and education.
According to the United Nations, between 2021 and 2023, Africa spent $70 per capita on debt interest payments, more than on education or health, which were at $63 and $44 per capita respectively.
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa will also push during the two-day summit for the creation of an "International Inequalities Panel", modelled after the IPCC for climate change, to tackle massive global inequality.
A productive year
Désiré Assogbavi is the advisor on Africa at the Open Society Foundations. He regularly came to Johannesburg to follow the South African presidency of the G20 this year and came back again a week before the head of states summit.
He thinks that huge progress has been made.
"This G20 is happening in a very particular situation," Assogbavi told me. "You see what's happening in the world; multilateralism has been being challenged around the world. So this is a particular moment. The G20 is supposed to be one of the best expressions of countries, with people working together to find greater solutions for world problems."
He underlines that if not everybody is coming to the table, the vast majority is.
"The United States has decided not to endorse the presidency of South Africa and decided to boycott it, while it is happening for the first time in Africa. This is regrettable, really unfortunate. I wish everybody came. However, the summit will go ahead. And I see a lot of determination from various delegations, from various actors to move forward anyway, to try to resolve the big problem that our continent, the whole world is having."
Multilateralism at stake
G20 is one of the bodies representing the most powerful countries around the world. The goal of such a summit is to get together and agree on a common position on key issues.
"We are very optimistic because it is happening now for the very first time in Africa," Assogbavi continues. "And it seems to be one of the most inclusive presidencies. Over the last few days, since I landed here in Johannesburg, I've seen various group, various components of the society having their own meetings around the key thematics of the summit. And the conclusions of those discussions will be part of the general debates of the leaders."
Ramaphosa even told reporters ahead of this 22-23 November event that the US absence is "their loss".
And South Africa insisted all year through that this presidency has been the presidency of the whole of Africa.
This presidency of South Africa has been a success in that sense according to Assogbavi, as the African Union, the continental body that represents the whole continent, has been now admitted in the G20 as a full member.
"So we have South Africa as a member, and we also have the African Union as a full member at the table now," Assogbavi told me. "At the beginning of the year when South Africa took the presidency, they had an agreement with the African Union to put their hand together and push an African agenda within the G20. And I can say this is one of the achievements of President Ramaphosa at the helm of the G20, allowing the continental agenda to be a priority and not only the South African agenda.
If many still reckon that the United States is the most powerful of the 19 countries in the G20, the body represents 85 percent of global GDP and about two-thirds of the world's population, and also includes the European Union and now, as Assogbavi explained, the African Union.
For all these reasons, he remains optimistic on the potential outcomes.
Priorities: Critical minerals and the debt crisis
The debt sustainability appears as the number one priority of the African Union.
All the heads of states of the union met in Lomé, Togo, in May 2025, and signed the Lomé Declaration on debt sustainability in the continent.
"This is already in a good place on the agenda of the G20," Assogbavi told RFI. "So again, South Africa has been championing the Pan-African agenda and not only a South African agenda."
Another key issue for Africans is the management of the many mineral mining projects that are exploding all over Africa.
"Let's be clear: We're not going to resolve all the problems of the continent, including the wars, in one G20 meeting, but what is positive is that we have been seeing the entire continent speaking with one voice on those critical issues and, most importantly, the issue of Africa being a provider of raw critical minerals to the rest of the world and only taking five percent of the profits."
Assogbavi added that this is happening at a very interesting moment for the continent, as the whole world is talking about the production of critical minerals, also considered as green sources of energy.
"There's a realisation in the whole world that they are useful to tackle the climate issue, instead of using the old fossil fuel to generate energy," Assogbavi said. "So Africa is targeted as a reserve of minerals that the whole world needs. It is important for Africa to be united and to speak with one voice on how they're going to manage that situation. And this is happening. The G20 is one part of it, but there will be other gatherings internationally where this discussion will have its way."
On the matter of inequality overall, a report for the G20 redacted by a team led by Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz labelled wealth inequality as a global crisis that threatens democracy and social cohesion worldwide, saying it should be confronted with the same urgency as the climate crisis.
If adopted, the International Inequalities Panel pushed by Ramaphosa "would mark a significant win not just for Pretoria's presidency, but for the millions across the Global South whose voices are often sidelined in elite economic forums," according to Tendai Mbanje, a researcher at the the University of Pretoria's Centre for Human Rights.
Improving leadership skills
Finally, with all these discussions on debt or the use of Africa’s mineral wealth, the underlying issue is the way these resources are being governed and managed by African leaders. Many Africans are increasingly calling for stronger accountability and better governance to ensure that the continent’s assets truly serve the public interest.
"The management of these resources within the continent is a crucial issue, and of how the money borrowed from various institutions is being managed on the continent" Assogbavi told me.
There is a need for transparency, so that people know exactly who benefits from what.
Assogbavi thinks the G20 also raises the issue of the fact that Africa's own leaders have to be accountable.
"We are calling for more justice in the way international affairs are being conducted; it is important that we also raise our voice as people of the continent vis a vis our leaders, for a better management and better governance of our resources," Assogbavi concluded.
Looking forward
As the summit is about to start, it remains unclear if South Africa's G20 presidency will manage to secure a consensus and to release a joint final declaration on these issues, however.
Delegates involved in preparatory work reported that some participants have been obstructive, including Argentina's representatives, as President Javier Milei, a Trump ally, is also boycotting the event.
China's representative Premier Li Qiang is expected to advocate for multilateralism. "Economic globalisation and multipolarity are irreversible," Li said at an Asian regional summit in October.
Russia will be represented by President Vladimir Putin's economic advisor and deputy chief of staff, Maxim Oreshkin, in the notable absence of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The summit also begins a day after the conclusion of COP30 in Belem, Brazil, and its final negotiations could influence discussions in Johannesburg.
November will then mark the end of a cycle of G20 presidencies by Global South countries, after Indonesia in 2022, India in 2023 and Brazil in 2024. The next country to take on the presidency is the United States.
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