Top diplomats from the Group of 20 major economies gathered in South Africa on Thursday and Friday for meetings focused on a packed global agenda, but these were overshadowed by the absence of the US's secretary of state Marco Rubio.
As a curtain-raiser to the G20 summit in November 2025, the foreign ministers of the group members gather for talks over two days in Johannesburg.
The meetings started at 2pm local time (1200 GMT) on Thursday with a keynote from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
South Africa, the first African country to lead the forum, took over the G20 presidency in November last year in a move meant to be an opportunity to get wealthy nations to listen to their counterparts from the global south.
The group currently consists of 19 countries - from Brazil to South Korea, Russia and China, including the members of the G7 - as well as the European Union and the African Union.
It makes up more than 80 percent of global GDP and two-thirds of the world population.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he would not attend, accusing Pretoria of an "anti-American" agenda. Instead, the US presence was limited to Dana Brown, the deputy chief of mission at the American embassy in Pretoria.
G20's diminishing role
"It's not a complete boycott of South Africa's G20," South Africa's foreign minister Ronald Lamola reassured a press conference on Wednesday.
Carlos Lopes, the former executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa and a lecturer at the University of Cape Town, told RFI that "the G20 is losing momentum" however.
He believes the failure of Rubio to appear is not only a blow for South Africa, but for the whole group.
"It will be really hard for the G20 to keep trying to deal with world affairs," he added.
It is also bad news for global discussions, as the group is currently the most multilateral, according to Lopes, much more than the G7.
Earlier this month, the US froze desperately needed aid to Africa, sending many governments scrambling to find funds for services including health.
And South Africa has particularly been the target of Washington which cut off financial support to the country over a contentious land policy and a case against US-ally Israel at the International Court of Justice.
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US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent also announced this Thursday that he would not attend the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors, scheduled to be held in Cape Town next week.
Global participation
Meanwhile, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as well as his Chinese and Indian counterparts turned up.
European diplomats were also present, including France's Jean-Noel Barrot, the UK's David Lammy and Ireland's Tánaiste / Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Harris.
The President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, in charge of Foreign Affairs for the EU, emphasised the quality of the partnership with South Africa. The guest were also able to "discuss ways to transform the global order for greater inclusivity,' she said from South Africa.
Wars and conflicts in both Africa and Europe dominated the discussion, as Xolisa Mabhongo, South Africa's Ambassador to the United Nations, predicted on Wednesday.
Ramaphosa told G20 foreign ministers that multilateralism and international law were key to solving world crises.
"It is critical that the principles of the UN Charter, multilateralism and international law should remain at the centre of all our endeavours. It should be the glue that keeps us together," he said at the opening of a meeting.
His other key priority for further G20 talks remains discussions on climate change and a fairer deal for the global south.
But the tensions between Ukraine and US President Donald Trump, who appeared to blame Kyiv for Russia's invasion three years ago, risks "derailing" South Africa's ability to push through a "common developmental agenda" at this stage, according to Priyal Singh, senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Pretoria.
(with newswires)
