G20 Trade and Investment Working Group will meet in South Africa from March 18–20

South Africa is hosting the first Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) meeting of the G20. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) in South Africa announced that the TIWG would be held from 18 to 20 March. South Africa assumed the presidency of the G20 for the year 2025 in December 2024 with the theme of Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability.

DTIC Deputy Director General Trade, Ambassador Zoelwa Mlumbi-Peter, said that the event would be participated by senior officials from the member states of the G20, the EU, and the AU. International bodies such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNTAD), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and African Regional Community would participate in the first session of the event.

He said that we have identified four focus areas for the meeting. The first of these is trade and inclusive growth. Its result is to promote trade and inclusive growth. It will discuss common or shared challenges arising from the distributional effects of trade with adverse consequences for economically weaker sectors. The second area will discuss the responsible trade and investment agenda regarding the challenge of the global commons.

He said that other important areas of focus are the G20 framework on green industrialization and investment. It aims to promote the value addition of critical minerals closer to the source. Also, the development of low-carbon manufacturing value chains to support global decarbonization and industrial adaptation. The meeting will also discuss the reform and development of the World Trade Organization.

The G20 is a major forum of the world's emerging economies. It is playing an important role in dealing with the current challenges of the global economy. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Britain, America, African Union and European Union are its members.