Brazil hands over G20 Presidency to South Africa

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva closed the Group of 20 summit on Tuesday and handed over the presidency to South Africa.

“After the South African presidency, all the G20 countries will have exercised leadership of the group at least once. It will be a good time to evaluate the role we have played so far and how we should act from now on,” said Lula da Silva.

Leaders of the world’s 20 major economies gathered once again on Tuesday with a lighter schedule after they issued a joint declaration the night before.

The document, which includes calls for a global pact to combat hunger, more aid for Gaza and the end of the war in Ukraine, was heavy on generalities and short on specifics.

The joint statement was endorsed by group members but fell short of complete unanimity. It also called for a future global tax on billionaires and for reforms allowing the eventual expansion of the U.N. Security Council beyond its five permanent members.

At the start of the three-day meeting which formally ends Wednesday, experts doubted Lula da Silva could convince the assembled leaders to hammer out any agreement at all in a gathering rife with uncertainty over the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, and heightened global tensions over wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Argentina challenged some of the language in initial drafts and was the one country that didn’t endorse the complete document

Additional sources • AP

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