G20 summit highlights urgent need for unity in a fractured world
Executive Summary
At the first G20 summit hosted in Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa, leaders warned that geopolitical fractures, highlighted by the US boycott under President Trump, threaten the group's role in resolving economic crises. European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a joint statement rejecting Trump's unilateral Ukraine peace plan favoring Russia, deeming it a draft requiring further work and EU/NATO consent, while adopting a declaration on climate, debt, and calls for just peace in conflict zones despite absences by key figures like China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin. The event underscores deepening challenges to global multilateralism, with host Cyril Ramaphosa defending the G20's relevance as the US prepares to host the next summit in 2026.