The summit opened without Donald Trump’s presence

The United States president boycotted the summit, held for the first time in Africa, but his plans to end the war in Ukraine have been contentious in South Africa.

Ukraine and the climate should be invited to the G20 summit of major powers that opens on Saturday 22 November in Johannesburg, without the presence of Donald Trump. The United States president boycotted the summit, held for the first time in Africa, but his plans to end the war in Ukraine have been contentious in South Africa. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that European leaders present in Johannesburg would meet on Saturday to discuss it on the sidelines of the G20.

Discussions planned for the afternoon on climate will also be closely followed, at a time when COP30 climate talks in Brazil appear to be deadlocked. On Friday, on the last official day of meetings in Belém on the Amazon, discussions broke down on a possible roadmap to exit fossil fuels, and the EU did not exclude that this COP30 would end without a deal.

The G20 brings together 19 countries, in addition to the European Union and the African Union, and represents 85% of global GDP and about two-thirds of the population. The Johannesburg Summit is expected to be symbolic: it is held for the first time in Africa, and also marks the end of the G20 presidential cycle by the “Global South” countries, after India (2022), India (2023) and Brazil (2024). The United States should take over the rotating leadership of the G20 from South Africa. The Trump administration has announced its intention to focus the summit on economic cooperation issues.