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South Africa sets climate finance and financial obligation relief as G20 presidency focus

South Africa's G20 presidency next year will focus on mobilising finance for nations stricken by climateinduced catastrophes and extending debt relief for developing countries, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated on Tuesday.

South Africa is the first African country to lead the G20, which was set up to strengthen economic cooperation amongst leading established and emerging economies and includes 19 sovereign nations along with the European Union and the African Union.

Ramaphosa said he would utilize the opportunity to advance the development concerns of Africa and the Global South.

Initially, we should act to enhance catastrophe durability, he informed journalists at the main launch of the G20 presidency.

We will elevate this concern to leader level, calling for the global neighborhood, including international monetary institutions, advancement banks and the economic sector to scale up post-disaster reconstruction, he said.

The second priority will be making sure the sustainability of low-income countries' financial obligations, which has currently been a core subject for the G20 recently.

We will also seek to make sure that the sovereign credit scores are reasonable and transparent and to address high risk premiums for developing economies, Ramaphosa said.

Other priorities will include increasing financing to help developing countries make the transition to renewable energy and ensuring that vital minerals, many of which are mined in Africa, benefit the countries and neighborhoods where they come from, he said.

South Africa's objectives might be complicated by the threat of trade wars under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has called climate alter a scam and threatened to introduce restrictive trade tariffs on nations consisting of Canada, Mexico and China.

The yearly top of G20 leaders will be held in Johannesburg in November 2025, Ramaphosa said. The United States will take control of the G20 presidency next.

(source: Reuters)