Role of Global South praised at G20 summit

Experts say declaration well reflects demands for a fairer, inclusive world

The 19th G20 Leaders' Summit, which concluded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last week, has underscored the important roles the Global South has assumed in different fields, experts said.

"The overall tenor of the communique, when read in the context of the adjacent multilateral meetings of APEC and BRICS, points to a growing confidence among countries of the Global South that there is 'no time like the present'. The world is changing; the decades of unipolarity dominated by the United States are in the past," said Warwick Powell, an adjunct professor at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia and a senior fellow at the Beijing-based think tank Taihe Institute.

The Rio de Janeiro Leaders' Declaration focused on the priorities of the Brazilian presidency: social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty; sustainable development, energy transitions, climate actions; and the reform of global governance institutions.