Reunión de ministros de Relaciones Exteriores del G20: evento paralelo a la 80ª Asamblea General de la ONU

Este discurso fue pronunciado en inglés y no ha sido traducido.

Excellency, Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola,

Excellencies,

South Africa sits at the southern tip of a continent that the world often sees as its last frontier. But frontiers are where the future is written. And today, as the first African nation to lead the G20, South Africa is writing new rules, showing that those who have not been in global decision-making before often see most clearly what needs to change for the common good.

Your presidency has brought urgent realities to the G20 table. When African countries pay four times the interest as countries that have twice the level of debt, you've pushed for fairer risk assessment and credit ratings.

When a continent holding a third of critical minerals exports them raw only to import them processed, you've championed value addition and industrial transformation. When Africa receives just 2% of global FDI despite its vast potential, you've mobilized us around investment promotion and removing structural barriers.

At UNCTAD, we have been proud to support these priorities – on debt, on the cost of capital, on investment for growth and stability.

Excellencies, I know these are tough days for diplomacy. But this General Assembly should give us all pause. If multilateralism is dying, why did over 150 Heads of State clear their agendas to come to New York this week? Why is every seat filled, every corridor bustling with negotiation? That is the paradox of our age.

Presence speaks louder than pessimism. And this week, the world showed up. And it showed up, not to say that our challenges are small – they aren’t. It showed up to say that we exist to overcome this.

So, thank you to Brazil and South Africa for bringing the G20 to the UN, stressing synergies and not competition. We must carry forth this hope and this message to Johannesburg – a chance to prove that dialogue can prevail over discord, that multipolarity is about expanding the centre, not replacing it, and that the G20 shows that more voices strengthen, rather than weaken, our common future. I look forward to seeing you there. I thank you.