African nations hope G20 summit addresses their issues

Global Business

The G20 leaders will gather in Brisbane, Australia on Nov.15-16 for their annual summit that expected to discussions on aiding struggling economies. South Africa is the only country from Africa that is a member of the G20 and will serve as a voice for the entire continent at the summit. CCTV America’s Sumitra Nydoo reported this story from Johannesburg, South Africa.

While most African economies are growing at an average rate of around 5 percent, economies on the continent are still struggling with eradicating poverty, improving health care, and increasing employment.

“If you look at South Africa’s representation internationally and at various multilateral forums, it really has provided South Africa to be the convenient interlocutor for giving a voice toward Africa but I think it’s very difficult to do that when you’ve got 54 very diverse, very different countries, how do you accurately represent the voices of all of these countries at a multilateral forums like the G20,” said Abdullah Verachia and emerging markets specialist.

Nigeria is now the biggest economy in Africa but it is yet to earn a seat with the G20 members. South Africa’s economy is also lagging behind; Growth for this year is expected at just 1.4 percent.

Despite a weak economy, South Africa is still the most developed country on the continent. But with a lone voice at the G20, many are questioning whether South Africa is enough to represent the entire continent.

“Having more regional representation from within the continent, I think it would be very powerful. The challenges faced by different countries are really very stark. To try and lump Africa in with the likes of Senegal, Nigeria, Kenya, you’re talking about wildly different countries, wildly different economies, that have different needs,” said Christopher Wood, aresearcher at South African Institute for International Affairs.


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