Deputy President Mashatile Calls for African Unity at T20 High-Level Dialogue

Deputy President Paul Mashatile.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile delivered a keynote address at the T20 Africa High-Level Dialogue in Pretoria at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria on Tuesday, emphasizing the need for African unity and collective action to strengthen the continent's agency in the global arena. The dialogue aimed to amplify African voices, stimulate policy discussions, and generate Africa-centric policy recommendations.

During his keynote address, Mashatile emphasized the need for Africa to address persistent challenges such as economic development, political instability, and governance weaknesses. He highlighted the importance of leveraging Africa's youthful population, digitalization, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies to accelerate development.

Mashatile stressed the importance of African nations coming together to guide policies and decisions that align with their interests and aspirations.

He highlighted the need for targeted strategies to address unemployment, limited access to education, and healthcare disparities, particularly among Africa's youth.

Mashatile emphasized the potential of digitalization, Artificial Intelligence, and emerging technologies to accelerate Africa's development, bridging gaps in education, healthcare, financial services, and governance.

He called for reforms within the global financial framework, emphasizing the need for equitable credit rating systems, accessible climate financing, and substantial debt relief for nations with lower income levels.

Mashatile urged African leaders to work together to shape the continent's priorities and drive progress. He emphasized that the G20 should complement and accelerate progress on already agreed global commitments, rather than substituting existing international institutions.

Mashatile outlined four priorities for South Africa's G20 Presidency which are strengthening disaster resilience and responses to protect infrastructure, economic activity, and human lives, ensuring debt sustainability for developing economies and addressing rising sovereign debt levels, mobilizing finance for a just energy transition, focusing on limiting global temperature increases in an equitable and just manner and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development, promoting sustainable, inclusive, and diversified supply chains.