When Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Johannesburg for the G20 summit, he sent a clear message to Washington and the larger “developed world": multilateralism cannot be held hostage by one nation’s tantrums. While Donald Trump boycotted the first G20 summit on African soil, citing discredited claims about white farmers’ persecution in South Africa, Modi attended without hesitation. His presence underscored a fundamental truth that Trump refuses to acknowledge: the world does not wait for American approval to address its most pressing challenges.

Trump’s boycott represents more than diplomatic pettiness. It is part of a systematic dismantling of the multilateral order that the United States once championed. Since returning to office, Trump has withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement, exited UNESCO, left the World Health Organization, and now snubbed the G20. His administration even ordered a comprehensive review of all multilateral organisations and treaties with an explicit goal: determining which ones to abandon.

Yet the Johannesburg summit is proceeding without the United States. President Cyril Ramaphosa made clear that South Africa would not be bullied into diluting its joint declaration despite Washington’s pressure to avoid one entirely. Trump had demanded that no declaration be adopted in his absence, proposing instead a watered-down statement that would effectively render meaningless the culmination of over 120 preparatory meetings South Africa hosted throughout its presidency. Ramaphosa’s response was unequivocal: “We will have a declaration. We will not be bullied. We will not agree to be bullied".

After all, why should a declaration not be adopted? Leaders from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom are attending, alongside Prime Minister Modi and representatives from Brazil, China, Russia and other major economies. The G20 continues........

© News18