Foreign ministers and senior diplomats from leading rich and developing countries focused on global conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war, on the last day of their meeting in South Africa.

The reason for the abrupt cancellation was the failure of the minister to get cabinet approval for the proposal to raise value added tax (VAT) from 15% to 17%. VAT is the second biggest contributor to tax collection after personal income tax, followed by corporate taxes.

South Africa is the first African state to lead the G20, hoping to advance the interests of developing nations in talks with the world's richest states. The G20 consists of 19 countries, along with the African Union (AU) and European Union (EU), and makes up more than 80% of the global economy and two-thirds of the world population.