President Cyril Ramaphosa's remarks at the 20th East Asia Summit during a Working Visit to Malaysia

Your Excellency Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim,
Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government,
Distinguished Delegates,

It is a great honour for me to address this distinguished gathering.

The East Asia Summit as a vital platform for strategic dialogue and cooperation on the most pressing political, security and economic challenges of our time.

Our participation reflects our commitment to multilateralism, regionalism and the strengthening of South-South cooperation.

We are proud to have joined ASEAN as a Sectoral Dialogue Partner in 2023, which affirms our shared commitment to peace, prosperity and inclusive development.

The ASEAN ethos of mutual upliftment and regional solidarity is one we share. It resonates with South Africa's values and those embedded in the African Union.

The world is undergoing profound change and uncertainty. We face crises of climate change, inequality and geopolitical instability.

Rising protectionism, supply chain disruptions and unequal access to markets continue to undermine development prospects.

These challenges demand coordinated responses and innovative partnerships.

We see great potential in strengthening cooperation between ASEAN and the African Union.

These platforms can serve as vehicles for enhanced connectivity, economic resilience and peacebuilding across and between our regions.

We are honoured to host the G20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg this November.

In response to the global challenges of today, South Africa's G20 Presidency is guided by the theme of Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability.

We have identified four key priorities for our G20 Presidency:

Our first priority is to strengthen disaster resilience and response.

We are calling for global cooperation - which includes financial institutions and the private sector - to scale up post-disaster reconstruction.

Our second priority is to ensure debt sustainability for developing economies.

Many countries, particularly in Africa, are struggling with mounting debt and high borrowing costs.

The G20 needs to recognise that unsustainable levels of debt are an obstacle to inclusive growth in these country. This debt limits their ability to invest in infrastructure, climate actions, healthcare, education and other development needs.

Our third priority is to mobilise finance for a just energy transition.

We need increased climate finance flows to developing economies, strengthening multilateral development banks, and leveraging private capital for initiatives like the Just Energy Transition Partnership.

Our fourth priority is to use critical minerals for inclusive growth.

As the world transitions to a green economy, as demand for critical minerals grows, we must not replicate the exploitative practices of our past that have often left resource-rich countries poorer and less stable.

We need to harness critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development. We must ensure that those countries and communities endowed with these resources are the ones to benefit the most.

The G20 has an important contribution to make to creating an environment of inclusive economic growth, reduced inequality and sustainable development, especially in the Global South and on the African continent.

Inclusive growth is essential for creating jobs and economic opportunities. It enables governments to invest in infrastructure, improve the reach of services and deliver public goods like health and education. This in turn raises standards of living, lifts people out of poverty and reduces inequality.

We reaffirm our commitment to enhancing the representivity, effectiveness and impact of the multilateral development banks to support inclusive and sustainable development.

Throughout history, trade has been a powerful instrument of economic growth and social progress.

We must therefore increase mutually-beneficial trade by improving market access, reducing non-tariff barriers and enhancing trade connectivity between our regions.

Strengthening partnerships and expanding dialogue is important to collectively shape the G20's approach to issues requiring international cooperation.

In this endeavour, there is much scope for cooperation with East Asia and ASEAN.

Together, we can develop solutions to the challenges we all face as developing economies.

Together, we can defend multilateralism and address critical issues such as climate change, development and resolution of conflict.

We must seize this moment to reaffirm our shared commitment to multilateralism and to deepen our partnerships.

We must honour the legacy of Band building a future defined by unity, dignity and progress.

I thank you.