South Africa sought to salvage international talks on tackling global poverty on Wednesday as finance chiefs of several leading economies skipped a gathering of Group of 20 nations in Cape Town held against a backdrop of foreign aid cuts.

"The absence of key officials at the G20 finance meetings further underscores the diminishing commitment to global poverty reduction at a time when it's needed most," said Dirk Willem te Velde, Director of the International Economic Development Group at ODI Global, calling the aid cuts "devastating news".

The G20 meeting in Cape Town faced challenges as key finance chiefs were absent, highlighting global dissonance in tackling poverty and climate change. Despite calls for cooperation, major disputes and foreign aid cuts further strained efforts to create impactful solutions,