Speaking during a keynote interview at the FT Africa Summit in London on 21 October, his message on foreign policy was clear. ”We are not in any position to choose anyone, whether it is the U.S. or China or any other,” he said. ”We need all international partners to support our development, so we are not going to take a position that favours anyone.”
That stance, he noted, reflects continuity, not indecision. ”Our President could speak to both President Zelensky and President Putin, a role requested by President Biden,” Lamola reminded the audience. ”So we were never ambivalent; we have been very clear about the U.N. Charter and the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Despite tensions, Lamola pointed out that economic ties with the United States remain strong, citing ”more than 600 U.S. companies invested in South Africa” as evidence of enduring confidence.
Financing reform
He indicated that South Africa’s G20 agenda is a drive to reshape how the global economy finances development. ”Africa receives a disproportionately small share of global climate finance, even though it’s among the most affected regions,” Lamola said. ”We are pushing for more affordable capital, reducing borrowing costs, and ensuring that multilateral institutions respond better to our development priorities.”
As the first African nation to hold the G20 presidency, South Africa’s agenda links national priorities with Africa’s broader ambitions for financial reform and sustainable growth.
Other key voices at the summit were Cas Coovadia, CEO of Business Unity South Africa; Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist at the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Africa; and Professor Mariana Mazzucato, economist and G20 advisor. In a panel discussion, they outlined how Pretoria plans to reshape the global financial system and make capital more affordable for developing economies.
The Financial Times Africa Summit is one of the most closely watched policy forums on the continent’s economic future. Under the theme Africa in a Changing World, the event set the stage for frank discussions on trade, finance, and governance.
Commenting on South Africa’s G20 agenda, Ronald Lamola pointed to the appointment of former finance minister Trevor Manuel to lead a G20 working group on financing reform, a signal of intent to deliver outcomes, not communiqués. While Lamola’s call reflects growing consensus among African policymakers, the challenge is whether such ambitions can translate into coordinated action across a fragmented global financial system.
Implementation focus
Cas Coovadia, who spoke on the Summit’s G20 panel representing the private-sector task force to the G20, underlined that credibility depends on follow-through, not declarations. ”We’ve handed over recommendations to the ministers on 4 September,” Coovadia said. ”We fashioned our recommendations in a way that identifies what needs to be implemented.”
This focus on execution rather than declaration drew strong approval from both panellists and delegates. The goal, Coovadia added, was to create implementation pressure, turning advocacy into applied reform.
Where the discussion often leaned toward diplomacy and investment, Mariana Mazzucato, economist and G20 advisor, brought the focus back to fundamentals, how economies are built, and for whom. She argued that South Africa’s presidency could only be transformative if it tackled the structure of finance itself, aligning financial systems with measurable development outcomes. ”There’s lots of finance,” she said, ”but it’s not actually really targeted at development. What is the structure of a public bank? What is the structure of a state-owned enterprise? How do we get better public–private relationships?”
South Africa’s chosen G20 themes are solidarity, equality, and sustainability. For Mazzucato, these are not slogans but levers for reform. She argued that South Africa’s presidency could redefine the continent’s development narrative by aligning public finance, private investment, and social outcomes under a single mission: growth that works for both people and the planet.
Adding a continental perspective, Hanan Morsy praised South Africa for embedding African priorities into the G20 agenda. ”It’s a historic moment, not just because it’s the first time Africa hosts the G20, but because Africa’s priorities are now institutionally embedded in the agenda,” she said. ”We’ve institutionalised Africa’s voice to ensure the continent’s perspectives are part of policy, not just presence.”
She also cautioned that Africa’s representation in global financial institutions remains disproportionate. ”African countries represent just five per cent of IMF quotas yet contribute nearly 28 per cent of its administrative costs,” she noted. ”That’s taxation without representation and it has to change.”
As the FT Africa Summit 2025 drew to a close, one theme ran through the sessions: South Africa’s leadership will be measured less by what it says than by what it achieves. Coovadia summed it up: ”Businesses don’t have to wait for government; the work must begin now. That same urgency ran through Mazzucato’s remarks: ”This must be a G20 that does something, not just says something.”
For Lamola, the challenge is to align reform, inclusion, and stability, both at home and on the global stage. ”The Government of National Unity is stable and cooperative,” he said. ”We’ve maintained progress on reforms in energy, logistics, and water. Our ambition remains 5% economic growth over the next three years.”
If Pretoria can convert dialogue into delivery, anchored in reform, inclusion, and stability, its G20 presidency may not only redefine South Africa’s global standing but also affirm Africa’s growing influence in shaping the world’s economic agenda.
Foreign Policy
