Group of 20 finance officials meet in South Africa from Thursday amid trade tensions, a global economic slowdown and Washington's threat to withdraw from multilateral organisations. President Cyril Ramaphosa has sought to leverage Africa's first G20 presidency to promote an African agenda,

STORY: Finance chiefs from the Group of 20 countries stressed the importance of central bank independence in a communique issued on Friday after a two-day meeting in South Africa.It was an issue that hung heavily over the meeting following U.

G20 finance leaders highlighted the importance of central bank independence in a joint statement after a meeting in South Africa. The communique addressed global economic uncertainties including trade tensions and extreme weather events,

South Africa's rand and stocks gained on Friday as investors turned their attention to the final day of the two-day Group of 20 finance meeting, which South Africa, the first African host nation, hopes to conclude with a formal communique.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not attend the two-day meeting in the port city of Durban, continuing a string of snubs by Trump administration officials.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will skip the meeting altogether, opting to head to Japan instead, according to Reuters. South Africa is also subject to a new 30% tariff rate, the only country in sub-Saharan Africa to be singled out in the latest round of announcements.

U.S. Treasury Secretary marked his second absence from a South Africa G20 event, though Washington assumes rotating presidency by end of year

Finance chiefs of G20 countries expressed optimism for an agreement on a common position on trade and other global challenges on Friday despite U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs which have overshadowed their meeting,

Addressing leaders at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meetings, the SARB Governor highlighted the systemic risks posed by the insurance gap.