Johannesburg, Nov. 23 -- South Africa managed to steer the G20 Summit towards consensus on a Leaders' Declaration on day one, even with the US seat left empty, proving that the G20 Summit would not be derailed by diplomatic tension.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and G20 host, pushed ahead with a decision to get the Leaders' Declaration adopted at the start of the meeting rather than the end as part of a strategy to pre-empt any backtracking.
Argentina, a close ally of the US, voiced unhappiness with the Declaration, but officials said that the document was part of the consensus.
Despite a threat from the US for South Africa not to adopt a declaration in its absence, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said its arguments di...