The Accra Reset, Ghana’s flagship initiative to strengthen Global South influence, has taken centre stage at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, marking a bold push to reshape global development and financial governance.
Speaking on behalf of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo announced operational milestones and outlined the platform’s strategic partnership with the G20.
“This is a moment when durable solutions must be co-created, negotiated with fairness, and built on sovereignty, dignity, and shared prosperity,” Obasanjo said.
The Accra Reset, spearheaded by President Mahama as the AU’s Champion for Reparations, seeks to re-architect global development cooperation.
He highlighted that the Accra Reset positions the Global South as an active architect of global development, moving beyond dependency on aid and unsustainable borrowing.
Obasanjo announced that the Accra Reset’s interim Secretariat has begun operations in Ghana, and its Circle of Leaders now includes more than two dozen former Heads of State and international figures spanning Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the Caribbean.
A High-Level Panel has also been convened to produce a landmark report on restructuring global governance, to be submitted to a commissioning authority of both Global North and South leaders.
“These developments mark a decisive step towards a fairer, more inclusive global order,” he said, describing the platform as a bridge linking governments, civil society, and private actors.
Obasanjo emphasised that the Accra Reset complements the G20 agenda by supporting health resilience, digital infrastructure, inclusive growth, investment guarantees, youth employment, and resilient supply chains.
He argued that Africa must move beyond the dependency created by decades of aid and unsustainable borrowing. Instead, he said, the future must be built on trade, productive investment, and shared economic partnerships.
“We see this cooperation not as a parallel track, but as strategic reinforcement,” he stated, “mindful of the inadequacy of aid—which is drying up—and borrowing, which has become counterproductive for human capital development.”
Closing his address, Obasanjo expressed gratitude to President Cyril Ramaphosa and all G20 members for opening space for this partnership.
“We stand ready to work with humility, discipline, and resolve to transform aspirational development targets into workable business models that deliver real and durable change,” he said.
The Accra Reset’s debut at the G20 signals the Global South’s determination to shape international policy, marking a historic shift in the dynamics of multilateral cooperation and economic governance.
