SA Shines at G20: Steenhuisen praises summit success

Minister of Agriculture and DA leader John Steenhuisen has praised South Africa, saying the country’s G20 presidency has done credit to the first G20 Leaders Summit on African soil.

The G20 has officially adopted a summit leaders’ declaration. 

The United States did not attend the summit.

Forty-two (42) countries attended the gathering, which began on Saturday, November 22, and will conclude on November 23.

Speaking on the sidelines of the first day of the summit, Steenhuisen commended South Africa’s efforts.

“The work that South Africa has put in over the course of our presidency, the issues that have been put on the table, and a reflection of the hard work that’s gone into it.

“I think it's been a really good day for South Africa to put a front foot forward – this government that's serious about our place in the world, serious about our economy, and serious about what we can do in a global context – and I think that's a very good thing for the country.”

He said the country performed well on the opening day of the first G20 on African soil.

“I think that the president has achieved a wonderful success with the leaders’ summit today, and I think South Africa’s G20 has done credit to the first G20 on African soil.”

This was the first G20 Leaders’ Summit under the Government of National Unity (GNU). 

The DA is part of the GNU, which has experienced tensions since its formation after the May 2024 general elections.

Steenhuisen said holding the summit under the GNU played a meaningful role.

“I think we have been working hard together to put South Africa’s interests first, and I think we've had some great success.

“We've seen a lot more stability in the GNU over the last four months. We’re off the grey list, inflation is going down, and we’re starting to see economic growth happen – 10% growth in agricultural exports – despite the fact that we've had trouble with the tariffs from the US this year.”

“This is a country that's on the up. This is a government that's serious about governing, reform, and meeting our priorities, and I think this G20 is a very clear indication that we have the ability to do anything that we set our mind to in South Africa. It’s a tribute to the work that South Africa has put in over the course of this year.”

Steenhuisen also addressed what support South African agri-SMEs can expect from the G20.

“I think that there's been a lot of discussion, particularly in the Agricultural Working Group, on technical cooperation, particularly on things like soil health, being able to build more climate-resilient crops, and how we can work together internationally to do that.

“This is fundamentally important because the people who bear the biggest brunt of climate change are subsistence and small-scale farmers. Giving them the technological know-how to improve the quality and quantity of their yields, in a more climate-resilient way, and being able to have more regenerative agriculture and knowledge-sharing, I think, is going to really help boost production in a big way – and with that, profitability will improve as well.”

He said that beyond knowledge-sharing, financial modelling is also crucial.

“Well, obviously there's financial modelling, and as I've said many times, we have to find ways of improving the availability of patient capital for the agriculture space, and I think there's huge scope for international cooperation in that regard as well.

“Helping subsistence farmers turn into small-scale farmers, small-scale farmers into medium-scale farmers, and ultimately mega-farmers – and graduating them through the value chain – I think is absolutely the way to go.”

Steenhuisen said the first day of the summit had been “wonderful” for South Africa.

“Especially after the GNU. Yeah, well, I think it's a wonderful day. I think the GNU’s been very busy this year.”

He said all GNU ministers from various parties had been actively participating in their working groups and hosting their counterparts from around the world.

“I think today has been the crowning achievement of that year of work, and I think President Cyril Ramaphosa and the government have got lots to be proud of in terms of what we've been able to achieve. I think we've been able to do right by Africa in terms of the first G20 on African soil.

“I think we've made it not just about South Africa, but we've actively included the African agenda through having the AU here, having the regional organisations here, and I think that's very important.”

He said collaboration with countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Mexico was essential.

“I think that in some instances we compete, but in some instances we cooperate as well, and I think we need to look at ways in which we can improve that cooperation between those countries.

“Obviously the US has been a very big market for South African citrus and fruit products, nuts, wine and table grapes, and the tariff system has now obviously disrupted that quite significantly. But I think the global south is going to see a lot more cooperation going forward in terms of ensuring that we can build the networks and infrastructure required to ensure ongoing trade between our countries, to try and compensate for what we may have lost in terms of the American tariffs,” he added.

IOL Politics