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The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the G20 summit in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, following his refusal of a American suggestion for him to transfer authority to a lower-ranking embassy official for the next summit in Florida.

Event Overshadowed by American Absence

The host nation portrayed the 48-hour conference as a victory for global cooperation, but it was diminished by a boycott by the US, which has repeatedly accused South Africa of showing bias toward white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been widely discredited.

“We’ve met in the face of major obstacles and shown our capacity to unite, even in times of great difficulty, to strive for global improvement,” the president declared in his closing speech.

Concluding his remarks, he noted: “This ceremonial hammer of this G20 summit formally closes this summit and now moves on to the next president of the G20, which is the United States, where we shall see each other again next year.” This was Ramaphosa’s sole reference of the country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

Summit Communique Highlights Climate Change and Equal Rights

The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday stressing the importance to address environmental crises and achieve “gender equality.” The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement on the initial day of his new mandate and has reversed many policies aimed at combating discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

White House Response

US administration representative Anna Kelly claimed the president of “refusing to facilitate a seamless handover of the G20 presidency.”

“This, combined with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 summit statement, despite consistent and robust US objections, underscores the fact that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she remarked.

Handover Protocol Controversy

South Africa had proposed to organize for an similarly ranked official to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the diplomatic headquarters. Officials had stated it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to pass it to the US interim envoy.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “From us, the ball has moved. We are done. It’s up to them. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Upcoming Gathering and Additional Absences

The 2026 summit is set to occur at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort, which is under Trump corporate ownership.

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, also declined to support the communique. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, commented: “In particular, it deals with the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that fails to capture its entire intricacy.”

The G20 document read: “We are committed for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and global hostilities.”

G20 Background

The G20 was founded in the wake of the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 nations and the European Union. The African Union was added in 2023.

The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. The Russian president faces an arrest warrant by the ICC, to which South Africa is a member state. Xi has delegated attending many international gatherings this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.