Leaders gather on Saturday and Monday for three thematic sessions on inclusive growth, global resilience, and the governance of critical minerals and AI. It’s a dense agenda shaped by the motto of the South African presidency: Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability.
The agenda:
- Session 1 (Nov 22): Inclusive and sustainable growth — trade, development finance, debt distress.
- Session 2 (Nov 22): Building resilience — disaster management, climate action, energy transition, food systems.
- Session 3 (Nov 23): A fair future — critical minerals, AI governance.
South Africa commissioned three reports to anchor the debate: one on Africa and development, one on inequalities, and one assessing 20 years of G20 work (G20@20).
The outreach is extensive, extending beyond the 21 G20 members to 19 countries, 19 international organisations, and 5 African regional bodies.
The big picture: Pretoria wants to consolidate the work started by Indonesia, India, and Brazil to reform global economic governance. The core priorities:
- Disaster-risk reduction and climate resilience
- Debt sustainability for low- and middle-income states
- Dustainable-finance channels for development and energy transition
- Inclusive growth through critical minerals
- Food security amid global shocks
Italy’s role. Italian sources familiar with the dossier riferiscono che Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will use all three sessions to spotlight Italy’s African strategy, especially the Piano Mattei — Rome’s flagship plan to support African growth, energy partnerships, and debt-relief initiatives.
- Italian government sources aggiungono che Meloni will:
- Highlight outcomes from the Food Systems Summit of July 28 in Addis Abeba — co-chaired by Italy and Ethiopia — as evidence of Italy’s push on food security.
- Reiterate Italy’s line on AI governance, rooted in the principles she outlined at the UN: human-centric development, ethical guardrails, and preventing inequality gaps.
- Address energy and critical minerals, stressing the need for secure and resilient supply chains.
- PM Meloni is also expected to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit.
What’s next: After the G20 closes, Meloni will travel to Luanda, Angola, to join the EU–African Union Summit on Nov. 24–25 — a continuation of Italy’s effort to embed the Piano Mattei within broader European engagement.
