South Africa’s G20 Presidency and the Rise of Africa’s Global Voice

Johannesburg marked not who was absent, but how confidently Africa influenced the global agenda

At the 2025 G20 Summit in Johannesburg, the first on African soil, the world witnessed a quiet shift in global history. An empty chair, left by the United States, drew early attention, but it was South Africa’s leadership and Africa’s growing confidence that defined the moment. The Summit was shaped not by anyone’s absence but by Africa’s presence: clear, principled and ready to take its place at the centre of global governance. The Declaration did not unfold in defiance of any nation. It unfolded in affirmation of Africa’s political, moral and strategic independence.

A summit rooted in ubuntu, not geopolitics

South Africa framed the G20 through the African philosophy of ubuntu, a culturally grounded worldview that recognises that nations thrive through collaboration and interdependence rather than isolation. The Leaders’ Declaration anchors global cooperation in the principles of solidarity, equality and sustainability. In a period of rising global instability and geopolitical tension, this was not symbolic language but a demonstration of leadership informed by African ethics and culture.

The commitments to protect civilians, uphold international humanitarian law and support peaceful resolution in conflicts from Palestine to Sudan, the DRC and Ukraine reflect long-standing African positions. The moral tone of the Declaration was shaped not by who sat in the room, but by what Africa has always stood for: human dignity without hierarchy. South Africa was not reacting to global politics. It was re-grounding global politics.

Africa moves from the margins to the mandate

Johannesburg marked a transition from Africa being present to Africa being pivotal. Under South Africa’s presidency, African priorities moved from the periphery to the centre of the G20 agenda. The call for a reformed UN Security Council, explicitly naming Africa as underrepresented and unrepresented, was a long overdue recognition of geopolitical reality. The affirmation of the African Union as a full G20 member acknowledged the importance and legitimacy of Africa’s voice in global affairs.

South Africa strengthened the G20–Africa partnership with a focus on industrialisation, sustainable investment and the AfCFTA as strategic levers of global growth. Africa was not framed as a challenge to be managed or a project to be rescued, but as a driver of global solutions. In this context, the empty chair did not diminish the Summit. It highlighted that Africa’s leadership is self-assured, substantive and no longer contingent on the presence, posture or approval of any single country.

African realities became global commitments

South Africa did more than host the G20. It translated Africa’s realities into shared global priorities across the most consequential themes:

• The fact that more than 600 million Africans lack electricity and one billion lack clean cooking was positioned as a central global development and climate priority.
•  The G20 pledge to triple global renewable energy capacity was aligned with Africa’s development pathways and energy future.
•  The Critical Minerals Framework placed beneficiation, value-addition and African sovereignty at the centre of future industrial and supply-chain architecture.
• Food security was addressed through African-led strategies such as CAADP, reinforcing continental agency in agricultural and food-system transformation.
• The global fight against USD 88 billion in illicit financial outflows, long a drain on African economies, became a shared responsibility that demands international reform.

These were not demands for special treatment. They were Africa’s contributions to global stability, resilience and shared prosperity.

A new centre of gravity

The mischievous interpretation that the Declaration was crafted in defiance of the United States misreads both the tone and the intent of the Summit. The Declaration stands firmly on African principles rather than political reactions. Its values of ubuntu, justice, multilateralism and inclusive development predate and transcend the dynamics of any bilateral relationship. It was not written against America. It was written for Africa: for fairness, for representation and for a cooperative global order grounded in partnership rather than coercion.

Africa was not pushing back. Africa was stepping forward.

The enduring image of the 2025 G20 is not the empty chair, but the boldness and fullness of Africa’s voice. South Africa led with clarity, conviction and maturity, demonstrating that Africa is not emerging; Africa has emerged. The Summit confirmed that the world’s centre of gravity is shifting, not away from any one nation but toward a more balanced system in which Africa is not a guest but a co-author of global governance.

South Africa as gateway to Africa’s economic rise

South Africa’s G20 presidency positioned the country as a credible, principled and capable global leader. It strengthens brand South Africa as a moral anchor of multilateralism, a gateway to Africa’s economic ascent, and a trusted convener at a time of geopolitical fragmentation. For South Africa, this moment is an opportunity to amplify its leadership in peace and Africa’s development agenda; to align domestic reforms with global commitments; and to project a confident narrative that the world’s centre of gravity is shifting – and that South Africa is helping to shape that shift.