Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigration Abu Bakr Hefni emphasized Egypt's support for the priorities of the South African presidency of the G20, as they reflect the interests of developing countries, particularly Agenda 2063 for African development.

This came in Egypt's statement which he delivered during his participation in the G20 foreign ministers' meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on behalf of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty.

During a general session, which continued throughout the second and final day of the meeting and focused on the G20 priorities for 2025, the senior diplomat stressed Egypt's commitment to collaborating in the implementation of South Africa's G20 presidency priorities. This, he said, will accelerate the achievement of the sustainable development agenda by enhancing financing access for developing countries, including through debt-for-climate-swap measures, leveraging modern technologies such as artificial intelligence, and promoting water and food security.

Hefni pointed out to the challenges the world currently faces, particularly with the rise of unilateral and protectionist trends and stressed the importance of international solidarity and cooperation to address these challenges.

Also, Hefni highlighted the role the G20 could play in addressing current imbalances in the global financial structure, particularly by enhancing access to affordable financing and affirmed the need to avoid placing developing countries in a position where they must choose between two equally essential goals: combating climate change and achieving sustainable development.

Furthermore, Hefni noted the role the G20 could take in ensuring that practices of international financial institutions and multilateral development banks are fair and that they are capable of providing appropriate solutions to meet the needs of developing countries. He also emphasized the importance of managing the debt burden in a way that ensures macroeconomic stability for low- and middle-income countries, thus preventing a new global debt crisis.

Egypt's participation in this year's G20 meetings comes in response to an invitation extended by South Africa, the current president of the group, to take part as a guest country in various G20 events until the end of its tenure in November 2025.