Didiza adamant P20 Summit will be held in US in 2026

KLEINMOND - National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza is adamant that the G20 meeting of parliament speakers, known as the P20, will have its next meeting in the United States next year.

This after the US indicated at the second G20 foreign ministers meeting held at the United Nations in September, that it intends scaling back on several G20 programmes when it takes over the presidency from South Africa.

US officials who were expected to attend this week’s P20 meeting of speakers in the Western Cape were a no-show after a budget shutdown in Washington put a freeze on government spending.

The US was not on hand to receive the 11th P20 Summit’s final declaration, which stresses the importance of upholding multilateralism and resisting protectionism.

The declaration also makes commitments to fighting climate change, addressing the debt of low- and middle-income countries, the need for a just energy transition and helpingdeveloping nations reap the benefits of critical minerals.

Closing the summit, Speaker Thoko Didiza was applauded by delegates when she said South Africa was ready to assist the United States to host the next meeting of parliamentarians.

"As I will be handing over through diplomatic channels as agreed with the United States, we will inform them that we stand ready as the P20 to work with them, to ensure that P2026 will be in the United States at a venue they will decide."

Didiza said that implementing the pledges made by this summit would require navigating complex political landscapes.

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