Johannesburg, South Africa – As the 2025 G20 Leaders’ Summit continues at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg, marking the first time the forum is held on African soil, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has engaged in a packed schedule of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy. On Saturday, November 22, 2025, Erdoğan held a series of high-level meetings on the sidelines of the summit, which is being held under the theme “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability.”
The Turkish Presidency confirmed that President Erdoğan met separately with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, and Angolan President João Lourenço. He also held talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who later posted on X: “Great to have a constructive conversation with President Erdogan.”
In his post, Albanese highlighted a significant climate agreement reached during their discussion: at next year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP31), which Türkiye will host in Antalya in November 2026, Australia will serve as President of Negotiations both in the preparatory phase and during the conference itself. “That means we’ll ensure the interests of the Pacific are advanced throughout the process,” Albanese wrote. “Together, COP31 will accelerate practical action and investment to keep global temperatures to safer limits and help build resilience to climate impacts.”
The arrangement, described as a compromise after months of negotiations over hosting and presidency roles, will see pre-COP consultations held in a Pacific Island nation, with Australia leading formal negotiations while Türkiye provides the venue and logistical support. The deal was finalised following intensive talks at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, earlier this year.
President Erdoğan also chaired a meeting of MIKTA leaders — the informal consultative platform comprising Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Türkiye, and Australia — on the margins of the G20. The gathering included South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and senior Mexican officials. The group, which operates outside traditional power blocs, discussed middle-power coordination on G20 reform, women’s economic empowerment, trade fairness, and amplifying Global South perspectives in multilateral forums.
Accompanying President Erdoğan throughout the day were Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran, Chief Foreign Policy and Security Adviser Akif Çağatay Kılıç, and other senior officials, including ruling AK Party and nationalist MHP representatives.
The bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who took office in March 2025 after leading the Liberal Party to victory, focused on expanding trade (now exceeding $5 billion annually), energy security, and cooperation on sustainable finance — an area where Carney has long been a global authority. The leaders also explored joint initiatives in renewable hydrogen and Arctic resource governance.
With European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, discussions centred on modernising the EU-Türkiye Customs Union, visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens, continued EU financial support for the nearly four million Syrian refugees hosted in Türkiye, and alignment on supply-chain resilience and the G20’s newly adopted declaration on climate and debt sustainability.
In his meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, Erdoğan reaffirmed Türkiye’s strong partnership with the Horn of Africa, pledging further investment in agriculture, aviation links, and renewable energy projects. The two leaders welcomed the African Union’s permanent G20 membership and discussed coordinated positions on debt relief and technology transfer.
The talks with Angolan President João Lourenço emphasised Angola’s transition from oil dependency toward green energy and mining diversification. The leaders agreed to fast-track a bilateral investment treaty that could unlock up to $2 billion in Turkish projects in infrastructure and critical minerals.
Beyond the bilaterals, President Erdoğan used his plenary interventions to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, renewed Turkish commitment to Palestinian reconstruction, and criticised unilateral approaches to global governance. On climate finance, he urged G20 nations to honour their $100 billion annual pledge to vulnerable countries and positioned Türkiye’s hosting of COP31 as an opportunity to deliver tangible outcomes rather than prolonged negotiations.
The Johannesburg summit itself has been marked by several high-profile absences, most notably U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as protests in the city highlighting South Africa’s domestic challenges. Nevertheless, leaders managed to adopt a leaders’ declaration on Saturday covering climate action, debt relief for low-income countries, reform of multilateral development banks, and calls for “just peace” in ongoing conflicts.
As the summit moves into its final day on Sunday, expectations remain high for concrete deliverables on energy transitions, critical minerals supply chains, and reform of the global financial architecture — areas where Türkiye has actively positioned itself as a bridge between developed and developing nations.
President Erdoğan’s whirlwind of meetings in Johannesburg underscores Ankara’s growing diplomatic footprint, leveraging its unique geographical and political position to foster partnerships across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific. With COP31 now firmly on the horizon as a joint Türkiye–Australia endeavour, and with new momentum in bilateral ties with key G20 members, Türkiye appears determined to play a central role in shaping the global agenda in the year ahead.
