Cape Town:
The erosion of multilateralism threatens global growth and stability, President Cyril Ramaphosa warned on Wednesday at a G20 Finance Conference in South Africa, which marked the absence of the US Treasury Secretary.
The two-day consultation between the Finance Minister and the central bank governor from one of the world’s leading economies took place a week after a meeting of G20 foreign ministers was snuck by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State who advocated “anti-Americanism.”
“The erosion of multilateralism poses a threat to global growth and stability,” Ramaphosa said in his opening speech.
“At this point when geopolitical conflicts have risen, rules-based order is particularly important as a mechanism for managing conflicts and resolving conflicts,” he said.
The G20, a group of 19 countries and the European and African Unions, is divided into major issues, from Russia’s war in Ukraine to climate change, with world leaders trying to respond to dramatic policy changes from Washington since the revival of US President Donald Trump.
“Multilateral cooperation is our only hope to overcome unprecedented challenges, including slow and uneven growth, rising debt burdens, sustained poverty and inequality, and the existential threat of climate change,” Ramaphosa said.
Italian Foreign Minister Giancarlo Giorgeti repeated the call, warning that geopolitical tensions risk further delaying the global economy, particularly in poor countries.
“Protectionism, trade barriers and political uncertainty threaten growth and the global value chain, threaten increased production costs and inflation and weakened economic resilience,” he said.
South Africa served as the revolving G20 president this year, choosing the theme of “solidarity, equality, and sustainability.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent said on February 20 that he would not attend the Cape Town meeting because he was too busy.
A few days ago, Rubio had accused the G20 host of choosing the “anti-American” theme. It followed Trump’s criticism of South Africa’s land reform aimed at rectifying the inequality committed during the apartheid era.
The United States was represented by Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell at the Cape Town Conference.
The 20 groups bring together the world’s largest economy, which, on behalf of around 85% of the world’s GDP, discusses international economic and economic stability.
Some countries chose not to send a finance minister, but the UK, Switzerland and France were similar to European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde.