G20 summit in Johannesburg: South Africa emphasises the importance of multilateralism
Executive Summary
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa opened the G20 summit in Johannesburg by emphasizing multilateralism to address global threats, with US President Donald Trump notably boycotting the event. Ahead of the summit, Ramaphosa and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen signed an unprecedented agreement to boost exploration, extraction, refining, and recycling of critical minerals in resource-rich South Africa, vital for Europe's green energy transition. The deal targets joint industrial projects, leveraging South Africa's vast reserves of platinum-group metals, manganese, and chromium, while helping the EU diversify supplies from China amid geopolitical instability. This partnership bolsters bilateral ties strained by US tariffs and secures essential raw materials for clean technologies.