South Africa will host a major meeting called the G20 this year. It started leading the G20 group in December 2024, making it the first African country to do so.
The G20 works like a team. Three countries help each other—the one leading right now, the one that led before, and the one that will lead next. South Africa took over from Brazil. The United States will lead after South Africa in 2026. They all work together to ensure that everything runs well.
The G20 has 19 countries plus two groups called the European Union and the African Union. These members make up most of the world's money and sell things to other countries and people. This makes South Africa's job as a leader very important.
President Cyril Ramaphosa thinks this is a good chance for Africa to talk about its problems with other world leaders. He worries about poor countries having lots of debt and about how weather changes hurt Africa badly.
President Ramaphosa spoke at a meeting last Thursday. He said poor countries spend much money paying back loans instead of helping their people. "The United Nations boss says poor countries pay up to 8 times more than rich countries when paying back loans," said Ramaphosa.
"The G20 needs to help make sure countries can pay their loans without hurting themselves. We need to help African countries and other poor countries around the world," he added.
Ramaphosa said more than 3.3 billion people live in places where the money spent on loans is higher than the money spent on schools and hospitals.
Having the big meeting in Africa shows that African voices need to be heard. The world needs to listen to Africa about growing in good ways, using computers and the internet, and using clean energy.
South Africa wants the G20 to focus on helping each other, treating everyone fairly, and taking care of our planet.
The G20 works like a team. Three countries help each other—the one leading right now, the one that led before, and the one that will lead next. South Africa took over from Brazil. The United States will lead after South Africa in 2026. They all work together to ensure that everything runs well.
The G20 has 19 countries plus two groups called the European Union and the African Union. These members make up most of the world's money and sell things to other countries and people. This makes South Africa's job as a leader very important.
President Cyril Ramaphosa thinks this is a good chance for Africa to talk about its problems with other world leaders. He worries about poor countries having lots of debt and about how weather changes hurt Africa badly.
President Ramaphosa spoke at a meeting last Thursday. He said poor countries spend much money paying back loans instead of helping their people. "The United Nations boss says poor countries pay up to 8 times more than rich countries when paying back loans," said Ramaphosa.
"The G20 needs to help make sure countries can pay their loans without hurting themselves. We need to help African countries and other poor countries around the world," he added.
Ramaphosa said more than 3.3 billion people live in places where the money spent on loans is higher than the money spent on schools and hospitals.
Having the big meeting in Africa shows that African voices need to be heard. The world needs to listen to Africa about growing in good ways, using computers and the internet, and using clean energy.
South Africa wants the G20 to focus on helping each other, treating everyone fairly, and taking care of our planet.
