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Global conflicts, mainly the Russia-Ukraine war, took center stage on the second and final day of the G20 meeting of foreign ministers as the US delegation abstained from the meeting citing diplomatic differences with Pretoria. However, the US Acting Ambassador to South Africa  Dana Brown is attending the deliberations of the meeting.

South Africa is the first African country to hold the presidency of the group of top economies representing 85 percent of global GDP and three-quarters of trade.

After the meeting, South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told reporters that ongoing conflicts and wars in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe are holding back economic development. He added that there had been agreement to support peace efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the conflicts in Sudan, the Congo, and others.

Lamola confirmed that President Cyril Ramaphosa invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to South Africa for a state visit. The two leaders have met previously on the sidelines of various global platforms.

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South Africa will host the G20 Leaders’ Summit in November this year, a gathering that’s expected to be attended by all the group’s heads of state. The United States is expected to take over the G20 presidency from South Africa next year.