Trump could take the shine off Ramaphosa’s G20 Presidency - Dr Jakkie Cilliers ISS

This week, South Africa assumed the Presidency of the G20, comprising many of the world’s largest developing and developed economies. It is the first time an African nation chairs the bloc. Ramaphosa said at the launch in Parliament in Cape Town that inclusivity would be a key feature of South Africa’s leadership of the G20 and that he would continue the developmental agendas of the previous G20 presidencies of India, Indonesia, and Brazil and bring the development priorities of Africa and the Global South to the fore. The G20 is “extremely prestigious, says Dr. Jakkie Cilliers, Head of the African Futures and Innovation Programme at the Institute of Security Studies in Pretoria and it is an opportunity to showcase South Africa and ensure it is visible on the international stage. The newly re-elected US President could, however, take a bit of the shine off Ramaphosa’s G20 Presidency, according to Dr. Cilliers. President-elect Trump, he said, is not committed to climate change or sustainable development or multilateralism—the issues that are important to South Africa. South Africa will hand over the G20 Presidency to the US in November at a G20 summit next year, and Dr. Cilliers said there is a big question mark over Trump’s attendance. The newly elected US President has in the past lumped African countries into a basket of “shithole countries.”