In partnership with the government of South Africa, the African Union, and the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, IPI co-hosted the inaugural forum on “Africa and the Global Order” under the theme Reform of the Global Financial Architecture: G20 Imperatives for Sustainable Debt and Inclusive Growth. This year’s G20 carries both substantive and symbolic weight, as it is the first ever hosted by an African country. Taking place at the end of South Africa’s presidency and ahead of the November summit, the event reflected on South Africa’s progress in advancing its stated priorities, particularly on debt sustainability and inclusivity in the global financial architecture.

The event was chaired by IPI President Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein and co-hosted by the governments of South Africa and the African Union, represented respectively by Ronald Ozzy Lamola, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, and Téte António, Minister of External Relations of the Republic of Angola and Chair of the Executive Council of the African Union. 

Participants had a frank discussion on regional issues held under the Chatham House Rule.

Atendees included Gesa Bräutigam, Director for Sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel at the Federal Foreign Office, Germany; Márcio Burity, Political Advisor to the Minister of External Relations of Angola; Işıl Cemali Doğan, Deputy Directorate General for Multilateral Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye; Berris Ekinci, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye; Philip Fox-Drummond Gough, Secretary for Economic and Financial Affairs in the Ministry of External Relations of the Federative Republic of Brazil; Shambhu Hakki, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs of the Republic of India; Freya Jackson, Director of Multilateral and Human Rights at the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Mathu Joyini, Permanent Representative of the Republic of South Africa to the United Nations; Thani Mohamed-Soilihi, Minister Delegate for Francophonie and International Partnerships of the French Republic; Masotsha Mnguni, Director of Economic Development at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and G20 Project Coordinator, South Africa; Stephen Del Rosso, Vice President, International Program at the Carnegie Corporation of New York; Hedda Samson, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations; and Thomas Schnöll, Permanent Observer for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to the United Nations (OECD).