G20 Rio Summit: Nigeria Leads Africa Beyond Rhetoric
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G20 Rio Summit: Nigeria Leads Africa Beyond Rhetoric
By Temitope Mustapha
The 19th Heads of State and Government Summit of the Group of 20 (G20), held at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, brought together world leaders from developed and emerging economies.
The two-day summit represented a broader range of views and marked the first full G20 summit with the African Union as a member. This followed the continent’s inclusion during the 2023 summit as well as the participation of the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and other multilateral organizations.
The Brazil Presidency of the G20 Summit had as its theme three main priorities. These are social inclusion and the fight against hunger, energy transition and sustainable development, environmental aspects and the reform of the global governance institutions.
The G20 Leaders’ Summit launched the Global Alliance against hunger and poverty, with ratification of 148 founding members of the global alliance. The initiative is to accelerate the process of eradicating hunger and poverty towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The event provided the opportunity for Nigeria to reclaim its position as the giant of Africa on the global platform following the invitation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
At the summit, Nigeria endorsed the G20 alliance against hunger and poverty initiative as a significant step in the nation’s efforts to address hunger and poverty by leveraging international cooperation and resources to accelerate the realization of domestic strategies.
Nigeria’s leadership for Africa at the Rio G20 summit pursued meaningful change for African nations in the increased inclusion of the continent in the G20 cartel. As President Tinubu asked for deliberate support for Africa, he insisted that the neglect of Africa is a danger to humanity.
Nigeria demanded an inclusion that would advance Africans beyond the rhetoric of sourcing for pathways for sustainable development, debt relief, and climate resilience. Nigeria’s contribution signifies its willingness to join in addressing global challenges.
At the 2024 Rio G20 meeting, President Tinubu ceased the chance to present a statement that fronted a common ground on the several economic, climate and funding challenges hindering Africa from realizing its potentials.
Additionally, the summit offered Nigeria a platform to advocate for permanent membership in the G20, believing that Nigeria’s inclusion would strengthen the continent’s representation in global economic discussions and decision-making.
Addressing the 19th session of the G20 Leaders Summit, President Tinubu asked the World leaders to back their promises with actions in providing support to Africa to end hunger and poverty on the continent.
The Nigerian leader also used the G20 summit to preside over the signing of a $2.5 billion Letter of Intent between the Nigerian government and JBS S.A., a Brazilian company and one of the top three largest meat processing companies in the world.
Nigeria’s engagement with the G20 countries creates new vistas of bilateral and multilateral pacts with the potential to advance economic growth, boost infrastructure and create opportunities for socio-economic reform.
Fostering collaboration between governments, international organizations, and investors, Nigeria and the rest of Africa will leverage the global alliance against hunger and poverty initiative to adopt a comprehensive approach. This will be geared towards addressing immediate needs of the continent and tackling the structural causes of hunger and poverty.
The 2024 Rio G20 summit, which involves nations of the world that control 85 percent of global wealth, should translate into a vision to redirect all the needed resources to invest towards the realization of social inclusion.
It’s hoped that this would sustain the fight against hunger and provide the window for energy transition towards sustainable development that would guarantee the reform of the global governance institutions for a better world.
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