Draft joint statement ready for G20 leaders' summit: sources
A general view shows heads of state during a G20 Leaders' Summit plenary session at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 22, 2025.
Image: Thomas Mukoya / POOL / AFP
A draft joint statement for a G20 summit in South Africa this weekend was finalised on Friday for the leaders, sources told AFP, after preparations boycotted by the United States.
The statement was reached through intensive negotiations by political officials of the G20 nations taking part in the Johannesburg meeting, which the United States refused to attend saying it opposed the priorities set by South Africa.
The sources were not authorised to divulge the contents of the draft statement.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (front R) and President of the European Council Antonio Costa (L) attend a G20 Leaders' Summit plenary session at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 22, 2025.
Image: Thomas Mukoya / POOL / AFP
Such statements, issued after G20 meetings of top economies, are designed to show where leaders agree on key topics related to the global economy.
The Johannesburg summit is focused on improving debt sustainability for low-income countries, financing a "just energy transition" and harnessing "critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development".
China's Prime Minister Li Qiang (C) attends a G20 Leaders' Summit plenary session at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 22, 2025.
Image: Leon Neal / POOL / AFP
A host of world leaders had arrived for the meeting starting Saturday, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The US embassy in South Africa said no American representative would take part because the G20 priorities "run counter to the US policy views".
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (R) welcomes H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, head of the African Union, as he arrives for the opening of the G20 Leaders' Summit at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 22, 2025.
Image: Halden KROG / POOL / AFP
President Donald Trump's government also warned the summit, which wraps up on Sunday, against coming up with a joint final declaration in the G20's name.
One international diplomatic source and another from within the South African government told AFP that the draft text for the leaders' statement had been finalised.
The title had, however, been changed from the traditional one, which is usually along the lines of "G20 Leaders' Declaration", they said, without being able to disclose the new version.
The White House said on Thursday that the embassy's charge d'affaires would attend the summit venue only for a handover ceremony, as the United States will next year host the G20 summit at a golf club owned by Trump in Florida.