Cape Town – International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor has urged G20 countries to address global tensions fuelled by various recent developments.
Pandor was speaking at the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Brazil on Wednesday.
The G20, or Group of 20, serves as a platform for international economic cooperation and holds a significant role in shaping and reinforcing global structures and governance related to major international economic matters.
She highlighted issues such as increasing debt for poor and middle-income countries, inequality, neglect in regions like Palestine, conflicts such as Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza, and violations of international law.
Pandor emphasised the G20’s role in crafting implementable responses to these challenges and suggested that the leaders of G20 are best suited to provide effective solutions.
She stressed the need for the G20 to renew its focus on development, especially after the impact of Covid-19.
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“All these have placed the world in a more precarious context and as G20 we must attempt to craft implementable responses,” she said.
“The world is watching to see whether the most powerful can initiate a reversal of our slide to disaster.”
Pandor called for increased financing and development support for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and emphasised the importance of addressing illicit financial flows.
“Greater financing and development support could be secured through active support to arrest illicit financial flows from and between African countries given the impact on development illicit finances fuel corruption undermine the rule of law and the stability of markets, yet little has been done to address them,” the minister said.
She also called for urgent reforms in international institutions, particularly mentioning the need for enhancements in the Breton Woods Institutions to better respond to development needs.
“The international tension we see today requires balanced and fair approaches to global challenges, respect for diversity of opinion and belief and acceptance that global bodies are most successful when they act in the interests of all equally,” said Pandor.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
