World can go on without US – Canadian PM

Washington should not overestimate its role in the international arena, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said, adding that a wide range of issues can be resolved without US involvement. The economic “center of gravity” is also shifting away from America, he told journalists on the sidelines of the G20 summit over the weekend.

The US skipped the meeting, held in Johannesburg, South Africa. US President Donald Trump has accused the country of perpetrating a genocide against white farmers, citing that as the reason for his absence.

Washington also claimed that only a chairman’s summary could be released following the summit because the US was not present. The G20 issued a declaration on Sunday anyway.

The meeting “brought together nations representing three-quarters of the world’s population, two-thirds of global GDP and three-quarters of the world’s trade, and that’s without the United States formally attending,” Carney said on Sunday. “It’s a reminder that the center of gravity in the global economy is shifting.”

According to the prime minister, decisions reached by the G20 members during the meeting still carry weight despite the US boycott. He also said Canada sought to strengthen ties with a variety of nations, including South Africa, India, and China.

Russian presidential aide Maksim Oreshkin led the Moscow’s delegation at the summit and hailed it as a success, adding that his team had had “a lot of constructive communications” with “friendly nations” and even received some proposals on economic cooperation and joint projects from “unfriendly” ones.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa stated ahead of the summit that the G20 “is moving forward” and “will not be bullied,” adding that the US decision to boycott the meeting was “their loss.”