Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to represent Türkiye at the first G-20 foreign ministers meeting scheduled for Feb. 20-21 in Johannesburg, South Africa, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.
Fidan will address several sessions, including “Global Geopolitical Situation” and “G-20 goals for 2025: Evaluation of South Africa’s Term Presidency of G-20, High-Level Outputs and G-20 Review,” sources said.
He is expected to outline Türkiye’s stance on international and regional issues, including Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and the Russia-Ukraine war, while highlighting the G-20’s role in addressing global challenges.
Fidan will also attend the 27th MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Türkiye, Australia) foreign ministers’ meeting.
South Africa assumed the G-20 presidency on Dec. 1, 2024, and will hold it until November 2025.
The G-20 includes 19 countries – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Türkiye, the U.K. and the U.S. – along with the European Union and the African Union.
Türkiye considers the G-20, a platform to address political issues like Israel’s attacks on Gaza and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as an important venue in terms of global economic cooperation and coordination.
Türkiye has been a staunch defender of the Palestinian cause and continues diplomatic and legal efforts to resolve the conflict. It has also acted as a mediator in the Russia-Ukraine war.
During its presidency in 2015, Türkiye determined its priorities as inclusiveness, implementation and investment. It raised global political issues to the G-20, arguing that “the global economy cannot be addressed independently of political issues.”
During this period, for the first time in G-20 history, political issues such as the fight against terrorism and the refugee crisis were included in the G-20 leaders’ summit agenda, the G-20 Food Security and Sustainable Food Systems Action Plan was approved, and the G-20 leaders adopted a declaration on counterterrorism.
In the framework of the rotation-basket system, the G-20 term presidency has been assumed by emerging economies in recent years. The presiding country plays a decisive role in determining the G-20 agenda.
The priorities of the South African Republic’s G-20 term presidency include strengthening disaster resilience and response mechanisms, ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries, financing a just energy transition, and utilizing critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
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