Anthony Albanese says being present at G20 summit in South Africa opens doors that will benefit Australia

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says being present at the G20 summit in South Africa opens doors that will benefit Australia.

As the first Group of 20 summit to be held in Africa opened on Saturday, Mr Albanese posted pictures of himself with world leaders, including South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“The decisions made here at the G20 shape the world and impact our lives at home,” Mr Albanese said in his post.

“Having a seat at the table means we can create jobs, lift wages and build a better future for Australians.”

Mr Albanese had also posted photos of himself and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi prior to Saturday’s G20.

Of Australia’s relationship with India, Mr Albanese said: “From trade, defence and security, to education and clean energy, our relationship is fundamentally important.”

The G20 summit opened with an ambitious agenda to make progress on solving some of the long-standing problems that have afflicted the world’s poorest nations.

Leaders and top government officials from the richest and leading emerging economies came together at an exhibition centre near the famous Soweto township in South Africa — once home to Nelson Mandela — to try and find some consensus on the priorities set out by the host country.

Many of South Africa’s priorities for the group, especially a focus on climate change and its impact on developing countries, have met resistance from the United States, which is boycotting the talks.

South Africa, which gets to set the agenda as the country holding the rotating presidency, wants leaders to agree to more help for poor countries to recover from climate-related disasters, reduce their foreign debt burdens, transition to green energy sources and harness their own critical mineral wealth — all in an attempt to counter widening global inequality.

“We’ll see,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on whether the G20 could prioritise developing world countries and make meaningful reforms.

“But I think South Africa has done its part in putting those things clearly upon the table.”

The two-day summit will take place without the world’s biggest economy after President Donald Trump ordered a US boycott of the summit over his claims that South Africa is pursuing racist anti-white policies and persecuting its Afrikaner white minority.

The Trump administration has also made clear its opposition to South Africa’s G20 agenda from the start of the year, when South Africa began hosting G20 meetings.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipped a G20 foreign ministers meeting in February, calling the agenda all about diversity, equity and inclusion, and climate change.

Mr Rubio said he would not waste American taxpayers’ money on that.

The months-long diplomatic rift between the US and South Africa deepened in the build-up to the main summit this weekend, but while Mr Trump’s boycott dominated the pre-talks discussions in Johannesburg and threatened to undercut the agenda, some of the leaders were eager to move on.

“I do regret it,” French President Emmanuel Macron said of Mr Trump’s absence.

“But it should not block us. Our duty is to be present, engage and work all together because we have so many challenges.”