CAPE TOWN, July 3 (Xinhua) -- South Africa will use its participation in the upcoming G20 Summit to promote and strengthen the interests of Africa and of the South, the South African Presidency said on Monday.
This position is based on the understanding that, if managed carefully, the G20 does present meaningful opportunities for advancing much-needed global governance reforms and orienting the international development agenda, the Presidency said.
South African President Jacob Zuma will attend the G20 Leaders' Summit that is scheduled to take place from July 7 to 8 in Germany.
South Africa is one of the 19 member countries of the G20 which, in addition to the European Union (EU), the 20th member, has been meeting regularly since 1999 to discuss global economic policy coordination.
"One of South Africa's primary aims in the G20 is to provide strategic foresight in establishing an economic and international policy platform that will drive and negotiate the best possible outcomes for South Africa, Africa and the developing world," presidential spokesperson Bongani Ngqulunga said.
An important part of South Africa's G20 strategy is therefore the outreach to Africa, he added.
"Given the current global dynamics on trade and climate change, the upcoming G20 Summit presents an opportunity for decisive leadership," Zuma said before his trip to Hamburg.
"In this regard, South Africa supports calls for the G20 to show international leadership particularly, in the area of climate change and trade, in helping to achieve progress in multilateral institutions, on the understanding that the G20 is not a substitute for the UN system, but should support and add value to what is being done within the UN context,"Zuma added.
The G20, conceptualized to stabilise and strengthen the global economy, brings together the major advanced and emerging market economies, which together represent around 85 percent of global GDP, 80 percent of global trade and two-thirds of the world's population.
