November 24, 2025
JAKARTA – Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka called for fairer global finances, as he stood in for President Prabowo Subianto in South Africa amid growing divisions within the G20 following a United States boycott and the promise of a clean break next year.
Arriving in Johannesburg on Friday, Gibran attended the two-day summit over the weekend with a delegation that included Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto, Deputy Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir and Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Djiwandono.
In his remarks on the first day of the summit on Saturday, Gibran extended Prabowo’s greetings to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and praised the country for hosting the first G20 summit on African soil.
“This marks a major shift, where countries of the Global South are increasingly becoming an essential part of global governance,” Gibran said, as quoted from a statement from his office.
He later called on G20 member states to work together toward more inclusive and sustainable economic growth, saying that Indonesia is doing its part domestically by allocating more than half of the country’s national climate budget, or about US$2.5 billion annually, to support green micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Gibran also highlighted the rollout of Indonesia’s own digital payment system, the Quick Response Indonesia Standard (QRIS), which he said had helped broaden financial inclusion and reduce socioeconomic gaps. “Financing must become more accessible, more predictable and more equitable,” he said.
Read also: Gibran heads to Johannesburg for G20 Summit on Prabowo’s behalf
On the second day of the summit, Gibran spoke about Indonesia’s approach to strengthening national resilience, citing the Prabowo administration’s flagship free nutritious meal program as a key pillar of food security, and pointing to Indonesia’s experience in disaster mitigation.
He said the country faced more than 3,000 natural disasters each year because of its location on the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, where different plates on the earth’s crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.
Amid an increasingly complex global landscape, he also drew attention to humanitarian crises in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and the Sahel region, warning that many tragedies stem from human actions rather than natural disasters.
“These tragedies remind us to place humanity at the heart of global governance. The world must not normalize suffering that is, in fact, preventable,” Gibran said.
US boycott
The summit unfolded under the shadow of a US boycott, after US President Donald Trump declined to attend. Even so, G20 leaders adopted a declaration on Saturday reaffirming global commitments on climate action. Argentina, led by Trump ally President Javier Milei, walked out of negotiations shortly before the text was finalized, Reuters reported.
Read also: G20 host South Africa sees consensus for summit declaration despite US boycott
The document’s firm language on climate action was widely interpreted as a rebuke to Trump, who has repeatedly questioned the scientific consensus that human activity causes global warming.
A spokesperson for President Ramaphosa said the text “cannot be renegotiated”, as quoted from Reuters.
Hours later, the White House accused Ramaphosa of “weaponizing” South Africa’s G20 presidency and refusing to support a smooth handover ahead of the US taking over the rotating chair next year.
The American presidency will follow a series of Global South chairs beginning with Indonesia in 2022, followed by India, Brazil and South Africa.
Prabowo’s agenda
Gibran’s appearance at the G20, which marks his debut in an international forum, came because President Prabowo faced scheduling conflicts with several agendas he had to attend to in Jakarta, including a virtual meeting with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday.
The meeting came ahead of the launch of the UK–Indonesia Strategic Partnership early next year, which has been hailed as a new milestone in bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said in a press release on Saturday that Prabowo and Starmer discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in maritime affairs, economic growth and higher education.
“The virtual meeting marked an important first step toward next year’s joint agenda and reaffirmed both countries’ commitment to building an inclusive, forward-looking and mutually beneficial partnership,” Teddy said.