S. Africa urges G20 to tackle Euro crisis

Xinhua | Updated: 2012-06-18 10:10

JOHANNESBURG - The upcoming G20 summit is expected to pursue a solution to the Eurozone crisis, the South African media said on Sunday evening.

South African President Jacob Zuma arrived in the Mexican resort city of Los Cabos this evening to attend G20 summit, which will be held on Monday and Tuesday, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported. The South African president and other leaders will exchange the views on the global economic situations, particularly the issue of the Eurozone crisis will dominate the talks, the SABC said.

On Sunday, the Greek voters went to polls to elect a new parliament, and the result of the election will decide whether the country will remain in the Eurozone.

It was reported that if Greece exits from the Eurozone, it will singe the whole euro area and cause global economic volatility.

South African Nedbank economist Nicci Weimar warned the situation in Europe is becoming critical, saying "What we are seeing in Greece is that the citizens are now starting to vote in such a way that is anti-Europe and anti-terms of the urgent aid that was given to them."

The economist said the Eurozone crisis will have a direct impact on many countries in the world, affecting the economic growth in South Africa and other countries, according to the SABC.

Europe is the South Africa's biggest trading partner in the world, taking a third of its manufactured exports, such as mining products, machinery and transport equipment and other semi- manufactured goods.

On May 29, Statistics South Africa announced the South Africa's GDP increased to 2.7 percent in the first quarter of 2012, compared to the growth of 3.2 percent during the fourth quarter in 2011.

The South African economist urged G20 summit to take the most practical measures to tackle the crisis.

However, the summit will face the biggest challenge on how to tackle the Eurozone crisis due to a lack of the unity, and it will be impossible for the summit to reach solutions quickly, the SABC warned.