Taoiseach Micheál Martin attends G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa
- Published on: 21 November 2025
- Last updated on: 21 November 2025
Taoiseach Micheál Martin will today (Friday) begin an official visit to Johannesburg, South Africa ahead of this weekend’s G20 Leaders’ Summit.
The Taoiseach will this afternoon begin a series of economic, community and bilateral meetings and events at an Enterprise Ireland Lunch attended by approx. 150 guests and business leaders.
Following this, the Taoiseach will take part in a “Global Citizens Now” event. Attendees will include Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. As part of the proceedings, the Taoiseach will participate in a fireside chat. This event is the culmination of a one-year “Scaling Up Renewables in Africa” campaign.
This will be followed by the Taoiseach’s attendance at the Eighth Replenishment Summit (Leaders’ Segment) of the Global Fund. Co-hosted by the governments of South Africa and the United Kingdom, the Taoiseach will deliver a speech outlining Ireland’s support for the Fund. (The Global Fund is the primary mechanism for pooling and administering development assistance funding for the three diseases HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria).
In the evening, the Taoiseach will attend a Bord Bia event to promote Irish whiskey and address an Irish Community Reception.
On 22 November, the Taoiseach will attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit. He is expected to address Sessions One (inclusive and sustainable economic growth, leaving no one behind) and Two (A Resilient World – the G20’s Contribution) of the Summit. That evening, he will attend the G20 Leaders’ Dinner.
On 23 November, the Taoiseach will attend the closing session of the Summit. En marge of the Summit, the Taoiseach will also have a number of bilateral meetings with fellow leaders.
Speaking ahead of his attendance, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said:
“It is a tremendous honour that Ireland has been invited to participate in the G20 for the first time in its history. We are deeply grateful to the South African Presidency for this invitation, and my attendance at the Leaders’ Summit is a culmination of work across Government over the past 12 months to make a positive contribution to the work of the G20.
“I have spoken extensively in recent months on the importance of the multilateral system, and our participation in the G20 has offered a unique opportunity for Ireland to work with the world’s largest economies to examine how best to tackle the large-scale challenges we all face and ways we can work together to solve global challenges, in particular ensuring sustainable economic growth and leaving nobody behind.
“While visiting South Africa, I will also undertake a one-day bilateral programme. Our participation in the G20 has also afforded us a wonderful opportunity to further strengthen our relationship with South Africa.”
ENDS