Zuma reaches Brisbane for G20, BRICS meet
November 12, 2014, 1:15 pm

Zuma is among the first of the world leaders to reach Brisbane, the Australian city hosting the 2014 G20 Summit [GCIS]

South Africa is the only African member state of the G20, a mix of the world’s largest advanced and emerging economies, representing about two-thirds of the world’s population, 85 per cent of global gross domestic product and over 75 per cent of global trade.

The key focus of the summit will be on how the G20 can contribute to boost global growth by implementing policies aimed at lifting GDP by more than two per cent over the next five years.

Zuma, among the first of the world leaders to reach Brisbane, is accompanied by Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene and International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.

The Zuma-government is struggling to pull the economy out of the doldrums. Annual economic growth has struggled to reach 2 per cent in the last five years.

The South African government claims the implementation of a National Development Plan is key to achieving South Africa’s own national growth target and also in addressing the challenges of poverty eradication and massive inequality in the country.

New Finance Minister Nene has admitted that this year’s growth target of 2.7 percent now looks unattainable owing to crippling mining strikes.

A 2013 Oxfam report warns that, “in South Africa, between 2010 and 2020, more than a million additional people will likely be pushed into poverty if interventions do not stem the country’s rapid inequality growth”.

The report, however, also pointed out that South Africa’s Gini coefficient — a widely used equality indicator — rose to 70 per cent in 2008, one of the highest levels in the world, from 66 per cent in 1993.

Meanwhile at the upcoming G20 Summit, as the sole representative of the African continent, South Africa will also raise “issues like the need to improve continental security”, says a government statement.

“President Zuma has led efforts to urge the private sector to support infrastructure development initiatives on the continent,” said the government news agency.

Zuma will also meet his BRICS counterparts, Presidents Xi Jinping, Dilma Rousseff, Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the sidelines of the G20 summit. The five leaders are expected to discuss the newly launched BRICS Development Bank, to be hosted by Shanghai and with a regional office in Johannesburg, South Africa.

On Friday Zuma will attend the annual B20 (Business 20) forum.

“The President will also attend the G20 working dinner, focusing on strengthening the global trading system. Other sessions that the President will attend are on delivering global economic resilience and energy plus the working lunch on future challenges,” the South African Presidency said.

To ensure continuity, the G20 presidency is supported by a “troika” made up of the current, immediate past and next host countries. During Australia’s presidency, the members of the G20 troika are Australia, Russia and Turkey.

TBP