Born of crisis but torn by years of tensions among its members, the Group of 20 major economies scored a rare victory this weekend for multilateralism after overcoming the boycott and objections of its most powerful member, the United States, Reuters reported.

South Africa, this year's G20 president, rallied all but two member nations - the U.S. and Argentina - to issue a declaration, ignoring Washington's warnings and quelling questions about the G20's future - at least for now.

Many doubted Pretoria would secure a declaration, much less tackle issues such as helping poor nations cope with climate change and external debt, according to Reuters.