The world watched closely as the G20 Leaders’ Summit convened in Johannesburg, South Africa, marking a historic first: never before had this gathering of the world’s most influential economies taken place on African soil. The city buzzed with anticipation, and the stakes felt higher than ever—not just for South Africa, but for the entire Global South, a region now home to an astonishing 88% of the world’s population. Yet, even as leaders from Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America converged to shape the future of global development, one chair remained conspicuously empty. The United States, under President Donald Trump, chose to boycott the summit, signaling a seismic shift in both foreign policy and global power dynamics.
According to African Business, the absence of the US did little to derail the summit’s agenda. If anything, it sharpened focus on the issues that matter most to developing economies: climate change, debt sustainability, just energy transitions, and harnessing critical minerals for sustainable growth. South Africa, presiding over the summit, made its priorities clear from the outset—equality, inclusion, sustainability, and genuine cooperation for development. These were not just buzzwords; they became the backbone of a 30-page declaration that put the needs and ambitions of the Global South front and center.
Julián Ventura, a non-resident fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, told African Business, “Western country presence in Africa is extremely important, including to address the credibility gap that was built up following the pandemic with issues related to vaccine and treatment access and supply chain disruptions that affected African countries in especially significant ways.” Ventura emphasized the value of Western engagement, but also acknowledged that the summit’s real power came from face-to-face meetings and practical dialogue—something the US forfeited by its absence.
For many observers, Trump’s boycott was more than a diplomatic snub; it was a symbol of the US distancing itself from the rising influence of the Global South. Criselda Kananda, writing for Play Your Part, minced no words: “The United States does not fear South Africa’s weaknesses. It fears our example. When South Africa challenges genocide before the International Court of Justice, it exposes the cracks in the Western claim to moral authority.” Kananda argued that Trump’s absence was less about policy disagreements and more about discomfort with a world order in which the Global South asserts itself as an equal, not a subordinate.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world pressed on. On November 24, 2025, just before the G20 summit began, the European Union and South Africa signed a landmark Clean Trade and Investment Partnership, along with a new cooperation agreement on minerals and metals value chains. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared, “This new, dynamic form of trade agreement brings together competitiveness and climate action. We are stepping up mutually beneficial cooperation in the clean economy and on critical raw materials.” The total investment package was valued at €12 billion (about $13.8 billion), a significant boost for Africa’s clean energy transition and industrial growth.
This partnership is part of the EU’s broader Global Gateway strategy, which aims to mobilize up to €300 billion ($347 billion) in investments worldwide. For European businesses, it offers diversified alliances and more secure access to vital resources. For African nations, it promises sustainable industrialization, job creation, and a stronger voice in the global economy. As Tighisti Amare and Grégoire Roos of Chatham House noted, “The AU (African Union) has become far more central to Europe’s economic and geopolitical calculations, not least because of soaring demand for African critical minerals and EU countries’ growing insecurity and migration concerns.”
But the G20 was only the beginning. Immediately after, leaders traveled to Luanda, Angola, for the seventh EU-African Union Summit, held from November 24-25, 2025. The momentum from Johannesburg carried over, with discussions zeroing in on debt relief, climate resilience, and minerals cooperation. Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), highlighted the scale of Europe’s commitment: “In 2024, Africa received about 40% of our total investment beyond the European Union, making it the biggest beneficiary of this category of EIB financing – a total of €3.1bn of new investment.”
Much of the EIB’s support targets climate adaptation, a critical concern for African nations facing the brunt of extreme weather events. Fayolle explained, “Accelerating investment in prevention and adaptation is so important: every euro we invest in these two areas saves five to seven euros in damage repair, reconstruction and losses.” The EIB plans to double its adaptation financing to €30 billion by 2030, focusing on agriculture, water, cities, and vulnerable regions.
At the heart of these summits was a call for a new kind of partnership—one built on equality and mutual respect, not paternalism or old colonial dynamics. Jaibal Naduvath of the Observer Research Foundation stressed, “To build genuine partnerships, the EU must pursue pathways co-developed with partners that respond to local needs and engage on equal terms. Moving away from approaches rooted in normative superiority is vital to counter criticisms of paternalism.”
Kananda, in her pointed critique, echoed this sentiment. “The era of the global bully is coming to an end. The age of collective power is on the rise. Trump can boycott the summit, but he cannot boycott history. History is unfolding here, on African soil, under the leadership of a nation that refused to submit.” The summit, she argued, was not just a diplomatic event, but a turning point: “The G20 in Johannesburg has marked a turning point. It has been shown that Africa cannot be ignored. It has been demonstrated that the Global South has significant economic weight.”
For all the symbolism of the empty US chair, the real story was the emergence of the Global South as a force that can no longer be sidelined. The summit agenda was anything but theoretical. Leaders tackled new industrial corridors, infrastructure pipelines, digital trade reforms, energy security, climate finance, debt restructuring, market diversification, green minerals, and Africa’s role in global value chains. These are the levers that will shape jobs, investment, and stability for decades to come.
Trump’s decision to boycott, according to Kananda, left the United States “a sulking giant in a shrinking room.” She argued that, by walking away, the US forfeited its seat at the table where the future is being negotiated: “By boycotting, Trump has chosen isolation over influence and ego over strategy. He has decided to punish the United States economy in retaliation for South Africa’s actions.”
The message from Johannesburg and Luanda is clear: the world is moving toward a community of equals. The Global South is no longer content to accept a supporting role in global affairs. Instead, it is shaping the rules, forging new alliances, and demanding a seat at the table. As the dust settles from the 2025 G20 Summit, one thing is certain—the days when a single superpower could dictate terms are fading fast. The future, it seems, is being written in the Global South.
