But the G20 leaders’ meeting in Johannesburg offered a glimpse of a world without Washington’s leadership. A shifting centre of gravityAs Harry McGee reports from Johannesburg Donald Trump’s boycott cast a shadow over the first G20 summit to be held in Africa. But the absence of the United States failed to derail the event or to stop the other participants from affirming a common agenda at odds with Trump’s. The US, which opposes all of these positions, warned the summit against adopting a declaration in its absence. And as the incoming presidency of the G20 the US will be able to ignore those elements of the declaration it dislikes.

Source: The Irish Times November 24, 2025 12:36 UTC