Richard Boyd Barrett on Trump boycott and G20 debt crisis
Richard Boyd Barrett criticised the US President's boycott of the G20 summit in South Africa, arguing it was motivated by opposition to South Africa's stance against Israeli actions in Gaza. He defended South Africa's leadership, outlined Ireland's engagement at the summit and raised concerns about the debt burden on low-income countries.
Trump boycott and South Africa
But, of course, the real reason he boycotted it is because South Africa has led the charge against the Israeli genocide in Gaza, Richard Boyd Barrett said, arguing the boycott was framed on "genocide against white people" grounds but driven by opposition to South Africa's position on Gaza and its history of mass resistance to apartheid.
Minneapolis protests and US accountability
He contrasted that boycott with recent events in Minneapolis, accusing the same US President of executing and justifying attacks on protesters, and questioned whether Irish officials should indicate support for those protesting against what he called "cruel attacks on protesters."
Ireland's attendance and agenda at G20
Richard Boyd Barrett noted that South Africa invited Ireland and that Irish officials attended about 13 meetings, with ministers also participating. He listed areas of engagement at the G20 process including agriculture, anti-corruption, culture, development, the digital economy, disaster risk reduction, education, employment, empowerment of women, energy transition, environment and climate sustainability, health, research and innovation, tourism, trade and investment.
Debt burden and development finance
He highlighted the debt burden on developing countries as the summit's most critical issue, saying G20 leaders' language acknowledged how debt vulnerabilities constrain fiscal space, undermine poverty reduction and limit investment in growth. He pointed out that interest payments on external public debt have more than doubled over the past decade for low-income countries and urged multilateral development banks to adopt more liberal policies to address the problem.
Gender equity and food security commitments
The G20 summit, he said, reaffirmed commitment to the employment of women and girls and to urgently removing social and economic barriers to gender equity, while food security also featured among the range of issues discussed at the meetings.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Taoiseach, Donald Trump chose to boycott, as did the US government, the G20 in South Africa, on the spurious and ridiculous grounds that there was a genocide going on against white people in South Africa. But, of course, the real reason he boycotted it is because South Africa has led the charge against the Israeli genocide in Gaza, indicting, rightly, the criminals who have committed the genocide against Palestinians, and because actually it's a place where masses of people rose up internationally against an apartheid racist regime. Of course, the last country to join the international boycott against apartheid South Africa, where Britain and America tells you everything, really. But I just wonder, you know, given what's happening now in Minneapolis, with that same Trump who boycotted the G20 on those grounds, executing protesters and defending it, justifying it, whether you should indicate your support for those protesting on the streets of Minneapolis against his cruel attacks on protesters. In terms of the US, the President did not turn up at the G20, although he did meet with President Ramaphosa earlier in the White House, and President Ramaphosa went to the White House. And, you know, I had good meetings with President Ramaphosa during our visit to South Africa. And what I would say is that, you know, there's a degree of self-confidence in the South African approach. I mean, if South Africa invited Ireland, which I think speaks volumes to the Irish position on the issues that you raised, Deputy Boyle Barrett, despite what gets said in the House here, South Africa were minded to invite Ireland because of the role we play globally. We're serious. Our officials attended about 13 meetings. Our ministers did as well. We took it very seriously. We engaged constructively and made sure that, you know, there's a whole range of issues like agriculture, anti-corruption, culture, development, digital economy, disaster risk reduction, Deputy Boyle Barrett, who are officials, the Sherpas were working on that area, education, employment, empowerment of women, energy transitions, environment and climate sustainability, health, research and innovation, tourism and trade and investment. And there's a variety of workshops throughout the year. The debt burden on developing countries is probably the most critical issue that emerged at the G20 summit, which was raised by a lot of the African nations. And the G20 leaders' declaration acknowledges how debt vulnerabilities along with other factors can constrain countries' fiscal space, really undermines their ability to deal with poverty and inequality and their capacity to invest in growth and development. I mean, interest payments alone on external debt, public debt has more than doubled over the past decade for low-income countries. So it really hampers their capacity to deal with lifting people out of poverty and the need then for the multi-development banks to develop more liberal policies in respect of that. And the commitment to the employment of women and girls was reaffirmed by the G20 summit and to urgently remove social and economic barriers to achieving gender equity. And then there's a whole range of issues in terms of food security. Thank you.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
