The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) will host South Africa’s first Group of 20 (G20) Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) meeting from March 18 to 20. 

The TIWG meeting will be held virtually and brings together senior officials from member countries, as well as the EU and the African Union (AU).

South Africa officially assumed the presidency of the G20 in December 2024 for this year under the theme ‘Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability’.

The G20 provides an essential platform for dialogue and action aimed at mitigating environmental, social and economic risks, while strengthening global economic resilience.

Inclusive economic growth, industrialisation, employment and reduced inequality are some of the high level deliverables for South Africa during its year-long presidency of the G20.

The G20 members include the world's major economies, representing 85% of global GDP, 75% of international trade and two-thirds of the world's population.

It comprises 19 developed and developing countries, as well as continental bodies such as the EU and the AU.

The dtic says the G20 plays an important role in shaping and strengthening global architecture and governance on all major international economic issues and aims to foster cooperation to address global challenges.

dtic deputy director-general of trade, ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter says the department will host four TIWG meetings, which will culminate into the G20 Trade Ministers meeting in October.

She says the first session will be attended by representatives from G20 and other invited countries, but also international organisations such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the United Nations Trade and Development, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and African regional communities.

“We have identified four focus areas for the TIWG. The first is trade and inclusive growth, with an outcome being principles to promote trade and inclusive growth that aim to address common or shared challenges resulting from distributive effects of trade with adverse outcomes for economically vulnerable regions both within and between countries.

“Secondly, we will be looking at the responsive trade and investment agenda to address the challenge of global commons.

“Another critical area of focus is the G20 framework on green industrialisation and investments, with a view to ensure progress towards the grand bargain that promotes value addition of critical minerals close to the source and the development of low-carbon manufacturing value chains, which can support global decarbonisation and industrial adaptation,” explains Mlumbi-Peter

She adds that there will also be deliberations on the WTO reform and development dimension of the WTO.