Banners of portraits of world leaders of G20 countries are displayed on pillars of an highway overpass in Johannesburg on November 20, 2025 ahead of the G20 leader's Summit.
JOHANNESBURG - A draft joint statement for a G20 summit in South Africa this weekend was finalised on Friday for the leaders, sources told AFP, after preparations boycotted by the United States.
The statement was reached through intensive negotiations by political officials of the G20 nations taking part in the Johannesburg meeting, which the United States refused to attend, saying it opposed the priorities set by South Africa.
The sources were not authorised to divulge the contents of the draft statement.
Such statements, issued after meetings of the G20 group of top economies, are designed to show where leaders agree on key topics related to the global economy.
The Johannesburg summit is focused on improving debt sustainability for low-income countries, financing a "just energy transition" and harnessing "critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development".
A host of world leaders had arrived for the meeting starting Saturday, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The US embassy in South Africa said no American representative would take part because the G20 priorities "run counter to the US policy views".
President Donald Trump's government also warned the summit, which wraps up on Sunday, against coming up with a joint final declaration in the G20's name.
One international diplomatic source and another from within the South African government told AFP that the draft text for the leaders' statement had been finalised.
The title had, however, been changed from the traditional one, which is usually along the lines of "G20 Leaders' Declaration", they said, without being able to disclose the new version.
The White House said on Thursday that the embassy's charge d'affaires would attend the summit venue only for a handover ceremony, as the United States will next year host the G20 summit at a golf club owned by Trump in Florida.