Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly attended the opening session of the 2025 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, representing President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi at the first G20 meeting on African soil. The summit focused on reforms in climate, debt, and global inequality. Madbouly announced Egypt's readiness to host an international conference on Gaza reconstruction.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly traveled to Johannesburg accompanied by Foreign Minister and Minister of Immigration Badr Abdelatty, Sherif Kamel, the President’s personal representative to the G20 and BRICS, and Egypt’s Ambassador to South Africa Ahmed Ali Sherif. Egypt was invited as a guest country to the two-day summit under the theme “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability”.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa opened the gathering, which brought together more than 40 heads of state, emphasizing a refocus on inclusive development, debt sustainability for low-income countries, and equitable climate and energy transitions. Ramaphosa said: “It is essential that we break down divisions of economic status, of gender, of race and geography.” He added: “Sustainability involves meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Delegations agreed on a joint declaration carrying “a message of hope and solidarity”, committing to leave no country or community behind. Discussions centered on food security, global debt pressures, the climate transition, and strengthening cooperation between developed and developing countries. Ramaphosa warned of shared threats including geopolitical tensions, global warming, pandemics, energy and food insecurity, unemployment, and poverty, urging reforms to the global financial system for better representation.
In a session on “inclusive and sustainable economic growth, building economies, trade, development finance and debt challenges”, Madbouly called for reforming the international financial architecture to meet the needs of low- and middle-income countries, expanding concessional finance, and strengthening multilateral development banks. He stressed overhauling the global debt system and reinforcing multilateralism with a central role for the World Trade Organization. He linked peace and development, referencing the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit to end the Gaza war, and welcomed the UN Security Council resolution on Gaza from 17 November. He urged the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan for humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Gaza, alongside a two-state solution, and announced Egypt’s readiness to host the international conference.
The leaders’ declaration stressed the seriousness of the climate crisis, in pointed contrast to US President Donald Trump’s boycott of the summit and his questioning of the scientific consensus on human-driven global warming.