Minister of Finance of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Enoch Godongwana,
Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Mr Lesetja Kganyago,
President of the Swiss Confederation, Her Excellency Karin Keller-Sutter,
Distinguished Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors of G20 Member States and Invited Guest Countries,
Representatives of International Organisations and Regional Economic Communities,
Heads of Delegation,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to this first Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ meeting under South Africa’s G20 Presidency.
Just under a week ago, G20 Foreign Ministers met in Johannesburg to share perspectives on the global geopolitical environment and outline the priorities and tasks of the G20 Sherpa Track for 2025.
The meeting of foreign ministers reaffirmed the role of the G20 as the premier forum for international economic cooperation.
It underscored the collective responsibility of the G20 for the effective stewardship of the global economy, fostering the conditions for sustainable, resilient and inclusive global growth, as a critical element of the broader multilateral system.
This meeting today of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors will provide further substance and strategic direction in advancing this collective responsibility.
The G20 Finance Track has been playing this vital role for 25 years.
At crucial points in our recent history, it has been able to galvanise actions with significant impact.
It was this forum that in 2008 engineered the world’s response to the global financial crisis and mobilised the necessary financial support to enable the recovery.
The G20 played an important part in responding to the Eurozone crisis and in maintaining global financial support and stability during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is a forum which has created the current global financial safety net, with the IMF at its core, and whose stewardship has proved critical to global stability for a quarter of a century.
This meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, like those that have come before, carries a weighty responsibility.
It needs to forge consensus on the actions we must take collectively to build a global economy that is more resilient, more sustainable and more equal.
As it has done in the past, it needs to raise its level of ambition to achieve specific, concrete and impactful outcomes with lasting consequences.
In undertaking this task, the Finance Track needs to work in concert with the Sherpa Track.
The success of the G20 over the years has relied on alignment and collaboration between the two tracks.
While each track may have specific areas of focus and expertise and their own working arrangements, they share a common mission: to enable sustainable, resilient and inclusive global growth.
The G20 was founded on the principle of cooperation.
At this time of global uncertainty and escalating tension, it is now more important than ever that the members of the G20 work together.
The erosion of multilateralism presents a threat to global growth and stability.
We know from the experience of past decades that a fair, transparent and inclusive rules-based international order is an essential requirement for economic stability and for sustained growth.
At this time of heightened geopolitical contestation, a rules-based order is particularly important as a mechanism for managing disputes and resolving conflict.
It is vital to ensuring that the rights and interests of the vulnerable are not trampled beneath the ambitions of the powerful.
Multilateral cooperation is our only hope of overcoming unprecedented challenges, including slow and uneven growth, rising debt burdens, persistent poverty and inequality, and the existential threat of climate change.
We are not moving quickly enough or boldly enough to address these global challenges.
We must collectively target a step-change in our efforts to improve the lives of all of our people and to protect future generations.
One of the greatest impediments to growth, development and stability is the persistence of inequality within and between countries.
The pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goal on reducing inequality is as much of an economic imperative as a social imperative.
As the G20 we need deliberate and coordinated efforts to focus on inclusive growth based on responsive trade and investment to grow the incomes of poor nations and the poorest in society.
We need to ensure equal access to opportunities, especially for women and young people.
For nations to flourish, equality and prosperity must be available to everyone – regardless of gender, race, religious beliefs or economic status.
The pursuit of equality is an imperative for wealthy and poor countries alike.
That is why South Africa has placed solidarity, equality and sustainability at the centre of its G20 Presidency.
In line with the original mandate of the G20 to promote strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth, South Africa has identified four priorities for its G20 Presidency.
Our first priority is to take action to strengthen disaster resilience and response.
The increasing rate of climate-induced natural disasters is disproportionately affecting countries that can least afford the costs of recovery and rebuilding.
When repeated disasters lead to widespread damage of infrastructure, economic activity is disrupted, and livelihoods are destroyed.
Innovative financing and insurance mechanisms must be put in place by the global community – including international financial institutions, development banks and the private sector – to scale up funding for disaster prevention and post-disaster reconstruction.
Our second priority is to ensure debt sustainability for developing economies.
In recent years, low- and middle-income countries have seen their levels of sovereign debt and the cost of servicing that debt rise substantially.
The combined external debt stock of low-income countries more than doubled in the decade to 2022.
Debt service costs are increasingly crowding out spending on education, healthcare and other social services, as well as infrastructure needed for economic development.
The work of the International Financial Architecture Working Group and other working groups will be particularly important in improving the Common Framework for Debt Treatment, accelerating the reform of multilateral development banks, and strengthening capital flows to emerging markets.
Our G20 Presidency will be addressing the high cost of capital faced by developing economies as one of the main barriers to sustainable growth.
Yesterday I had the honour of meeting seven former African Heads of State and Government who have started the African Leaders Debt Relief Initiative.
This initiative focuses on the challenges that many African countries are facing in servicing their national debt.
They would like to see greater urgency in addressing the debt and solvency challenges many countries face and determine clear solutions to mobilise low-cost financing for development.
I welcome and support their endeavours.
The G20 must show leadership in addressing the imbalances that persist in the global economy and filling the significant gap in funding required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The upcoming Financing for Development Conference in Spain this June will be an important opportunity to advance this agenda.
The third priority of South Africa’s G20 Presidency is to mobilise finance for a just energy transition.
Significantly more funding is required to limit global temperature rise in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, and to do so in a manner that is equitable and just.
South Africa has pioneered the use of country platforms to coordinate funding through the Just Energy Transition Partnership.
We continue to advocate for greater concessional and grant funding to support the energy transition in developing economies.
G20 member countries should lead the way in demonstrating ambition on climate action in the lead-up to COP30 in Brazil later this year.
The need to rapidly scale up adaptation funding is particularly important, as those countries which have contributed the least to climate change are now most vulnerable to its effects.
We must also scale up the use of innovative financing instruments, improve coordination among funders, and unlock the potential of carbon markets to create new and diverse sources of funding.
The fourth priority of our G20 Presidency is to harness critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
We need a G20 framework on green industrialisation and investment that promotes value addition to critical minerals close to the source of extraction.
We need to promote the development of low-carbon manufacturing value chains which can support decarbonisation while promoting growth.
As minerals extraction accelerates to match the needs of the energy transition, the countries and local communities endowed with these resources must be the ones to benefit the most.
In undertaking the work of the Finance Track, we seek to ensure continuity with past G20 Presidencies.
We rely on the deep expertise of the Working Groups and our experienced co-chairs.
We encourage innovation and openness in finding solutions to our most complex challenges.
In the context of our broader review of the G20 at the end of its first cycle, I have asked South Africa’s Minister of Finance to initiate efforts to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of working arrangements in the Finance Track.
As we work collectively to build on the progress made in previous years, we must continue to advance our shared goals.
As the world navigates rapid technological changes, climate change and pressing development needs, the Finance Track must once again rise to the occasion.
For the first time, the G20 is being hosted on the African continent.
This highlights the growing importance of the continent in global economic and political discussions.
Africa is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
It has a young and rapidly expanding population that is embracing technology and innovation.
At the same time, Africa faces several challenges, such as the effects of climate change, widespread poverty and high levels of debt.
The Summit’s location underscores the need for African voices to be heard on critical global issues like sustainable growth, the digital economy and green industrialisation.
We must focus the world’s attention on the opportunities for more rapid, inclusive and sustainable growth in Africa.
In doing so, let us raise our ambition. Let us lift our gaze to deliver on the promise of growth and prosperity for all countries and for all people across the world.
I thank you.
Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria