South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the G20 Summit on Nov. 20, which was held in the city of Ekurhuleni, near Johannesburg.
He opened his speech with greetings in several of South Africa’s languages, and said that the summit supported the principle of “Ubuntu” (a quality that includes the essential virtues of humanity, with an emphasis on compassion), and began with the history of the Bandung Conference, held in 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia.
He declared that it was a seminal event, and in a time of upheaval among the so-called Third World nations that aspired for independence and self-government. He referred to Bandung as “the moment the Global South began to speak for itself.”
“We meet at a time of great uncertainty. Political polarization, global poverty, conflict and war, and the growing impact of climate change are threatening global development. Inequality in wealth distribution, imbalances in international development financing, and disparities in access to financial resources are holding back our ability to meet the aspirations of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
