G20 chair South Africa warned Thursday that abandoning the rules-based global order and declining cooperation could derail 2030 development goals to end hunger, eradicate extreme poverty and fight climate change.

This is not only a strategic investment — it is one that can boost growth, create business opportunities, and reduce pressure on public budgets in key member states,” said Klingbeil.

The global economy has slowed and become less supportive of developing countries, leaving African nations increasingly reliant on international markets to fill the gap in their development financing needs.

"The G20 was built around a presumption that all the world's major economies shared a common interest in a stable, relatively open global economy," said Brad Setser of the Council on Foreign Relations. "But Trump doesn't really care about stability and wants a more closed global economy."

Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Narend Singh, has urgently called for global leaders to address climate action and provide the necessary support for mitigation and adaptation.

We are, of course, meeting at a moment of ongoing uncertainty in the global economy, while there are signs of resilience in some areas, various challenges do remain,'Pieterse said.

The G20's financial stability watchdog delivered a new plan on how to tackle climate risks on Monday, but paused further policy work amid a retreat by the United States that has tested efforts to advance a united financial policy on climate-related risks.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will skip the meeting altogether, opting to head to Japan instead, according to Reuters. South Africa is also subject to a new 30% tariff rate, the only country in sub-Saharan Africa to be singled out in the latest round of announcements.