South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola Calls The G20 Declaration Marks Multilateralism Victory

South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola (Photo: Special)

JAKARTA - South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said the agreement of the declaration of the leaders of G20 member countries was a victory for multilateralism.

Reported by ANTARA, Lamola said the adoption of the declaration by world leaders showed a shared commitment to strengthening international cooperation.

"The adoption of the declaration of leaders by world leaders today is a victory for multilateralism," said Lamola.

He added that this step was an effort to build bridges with countries in the Global South region.

The G20 Leaders Summit took place on November 22 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Russian delegation was led by Maxim Oreshkin, who served as deputy chief of staff of the president's executive office.

The G20 (Group of Twenty) is a multilateral cooperation forum consisting of 19 European countries and the European Union which aims to discuss global economic issues in order to realize strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth.

The G20 accounts for more than 80 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), 75 percent of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world's population, making it the world's largest economic forum.

The group held discussions on two channels, namely the financial track which focuses on financial economic issues and the helpa route which discusses non-financial economic issues.

Penghas pada jalur keuangan G20 ditangani langsung oleh kementerian keuangan dan bank sentral negara-negara anggota sedangkan jalur herpa adalah mekanisme pembahasan kebijakan yang dilakukan oleh para perwakilan khusus masing-masing negara anggota.

They are called herpa because they act like climbing guides: prepare roads, formulate agendas, and complete technical details before state leaders meet at the summit.

On the financial line, officials at the level of finance minister, central bank governors, and related working groups discussed various strategic issues, such as global financial stability, economic growth, fiscal and monetary policies, international taxation, financial inclusion, financial sector regulations, to financing for development and climate.

The results of discussing financial paths are an important basis for G20 leaders to make decisions at the summit. This route complements the Sherpa route which focuses more on development issues, geopoliticals, and other cross-sectoral cooperation.

With the division of these two routes, the G20 can manage the negotiation process more effectively because every issue is discussed by the most authorized and competent party in its field.

The G20 was formed in 1999 in response to the global financial crisis. Initially it was only a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors, but since 2008 the meeting format was upgraded to a summit attended by the head of state.

The G20 members are South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, United States, Brazil, United Kingdom, China, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Germany, Canada, South Korea, Mexico, France, Russia, Turkey and the European Union.