2025 B20 South Africa Summit: Business Stressed Importance of Global Cooperation and Adaptation

A strong Business at OECD delegation led by our Chair Rick Johnston attended the B20 Summit held in Johannesburg in South Africa, re-inforcing its engagement in the B20-G20 business dialogue. Speaking on the opening panel titled "Global South and Global North Conversation: Getting Global Cooperation Right in the Next Era of Global Change", Rick Johnston underlined that business needs to be involved at all levels when adapting to change and stressed the importance of cooperation on pressing economic issues.

As a proud Network Partner to the B20, we organised an official side event on 18^th November titled “OECD Impact, B20 Drive: The Business at OECD Nexus”, where we were joined by global business leaders, international organisations, and G20/B20 delegates to advance private-sector priorities, bringing together around 150 senior representatives. Our Chair Rick Johnston highlighted the value of the OECD–B20 nexus, “The OECD provides a trusted multilateral platform for coordination and benchmarking, while the B20 injects business energy and innovation. Together, we can shape a more predictable, transparent, and inclusive global economy.”  Joined by Andreas Schaal, OECD’s Director for Global Relations and Sherpa for the G7 and G20, and Khulekani Mathe, Co-Chair of the B20 South Africa Presidency, the event featured four panels on Trade and Agriculture, Finance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption and Health, where Chairs and Co-Chairs from the B20 Task Forces and our global business network exchanged with the OECD on its role in advancing forward on issues raised by the B20 for the G20.

Our Chair Rick Johnston spoke at the B20 Summit on a panel "Global South and Global North Conversation: Getting Global Cooperation Right in the Next Era of Global Change" joining Centre for Global Development's Alexia Latortue, Board for Old Mutual's Trevor Manuel, and the IOE's Jacqueline Mugo.

Our Chair Rick Johnston delivering opening remarks at our B20 side event.

The OECD's Director for Global Relations and Sherpa to the G7 and G20, Andreas Schaal, provided opening remarks to our B20 Summit side event.

Left to right: Panel 1 at our side event to the B20 Summit on "Open Markets, Resilient Food Systems" included South African Breweries (SAB)'s Richard (Boris) Rivett-Carnac, our Food and Agriculture Committee Chair Metin Akman, Bayer's Debra Mallowah, and our SMEs and Entrepreneurship Committee Chair Patrik Kovacs.

Left to right: Panel 2 at our side event to the B20 Summit on "Integrity as a Driver of Growth" included our Integrity and Anti-Corruption Committee Chair Nicola Allocca, LP Avvocati's Roberto Fiore, YPF's María de las Mercedes Archimbal, BAT's Johnny Moloto, Deloitte's Ruwayda Redfearn, and PepsiCo's Sarah Dean.

Left to right: Panel 3 at our side event to the B20 Summit on "Financing the Future: Infrastructure, Inclusion, Innovation" included our Finance Committee Chair Gianluca Riccio, Cēlandaire Capital's Lida Preyma, Startup20 South Africa's Vuyani Jarana, VISA's Joanne Kuba, and Mastercard's Ravi Aurora.

Left to right: Panel 4 at our side event to the B20 Summit on "Stronger Together: Health Systems for a Changing World" including USCIB's Whitney Baird, our Health Committee Chair Olga Mironenko Stampfer, Sanofi's Adrien Delamare-Deboutteville, and our Executive Director Hanni Rosenbaum.

Throughout the discussions, we emphasised the need for trust, predictability, and stability in global policy frameworks. Key priorities included smarter regulation, harmonised standards, open markets, and a predictable environment that supports long-term investment and growth. We also underscored the critical role of public-private partnerships in implementing solutions and turning global commitments into concrete outcomes. We will continue to engage closely with B20 partners and the OECD to ensure that business priorities are effectively reflected in international fora.