Cape Town - National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise will represent South Africa's Parliament at the sixth summit of the heads of parliament of G20 countries - the G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit - in Tokyo in Japan on Monday.
The summit aims to strengthen the role of legislatures in global affairs, Parliament said in a statement on Sunday.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) – the largest and oldest global parliamentary platform – and the House of Councillors of the National Diet (Parliament) of Japan would host the summit.
Participating speakers would discuss the promotion of free, open, and fair trade and investment; use of innovative technology "towards a human-centred future society"; and efforts towards resolution of global problems and achievement of sustainable development (including financing for development and transparent and effective government), the statement said.
They were also expected to adopt a joint statement, reflecting on issues agreed at the 2019 G20 Leaders’ Summit in June.
That summit committed the participating G20 leaders, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, to make united efforts to address major global economic problems, to foster economic growth, and to pave the way for an inclusive and sustainable world as envisioned in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Others specific issues addressed included innovation and data free-flow, quality infrastructure investment, anti-corruption measures, labour and employment, women’s empowerment, global health issues, and global climate change, energy, and environmental problems.
"Parliaments of G20 countries play a crucial role, as oversight authorities, in ensuring governments are held accountable for implementation of decisions," the statement said.
The G20 is made up of 19 countries and the European Union. The 19 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.