South African Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Wednesday an “African agenda”, including climate change and cross-border payment systems, is still due to be discussed by G20 finance chiefs amid fears that tariffs will overshadow the gathering.
US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent skipped the meetings in Durban, marking his second consecutive absence from G20 finance meetings and raising questions about its ability to tackle pressing global challenges.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has sought to leverage Africa's first G20 presidency to promote the African agenda, which also included topics such as the high cost of capital.
“The African issues have been elevated, all of us are talking about those,” Kganyago told Reuters as discussions were ongoing between deputies and other officials, before the two-day meeting gets officially under way on Thursday.
Kganyago emphasised the push for a co-ordinated African payments system to facilitate trade across the continent, a move that could face scrutiny from US President Donald Trump.
Trump has threatened tariffs on Brics nations for promoting “anti-American” policies, including advocating for payments in local currencies instead of relying on the dollar system.
“As African central banks, we have decided we are going to enable the movement of payments across borders,” Kganyago said. “We are doing it not to bypass anybody, we are doing it because it will facilitate trade on our continent.”
The G20, initially formed to address global economic crises, has evolved into a key platform for policy co-ordination. However, Trump's baseline 10% tariff on all US imports, with punitive rates targeting specific countries and products, has created significant policy uncertainty.
And while delegates said tariffs were the biggest theme affecting the global economy, Kganyago said G20 members would not develop a co-ordinated response to the threats.
He instead highlighted the importance of individual countries tailoring their strategies to suit their economies, like during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Michael Kaplan, US acting undersecretary for international affairs, will represent the department at the meeting.
Reuters
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