🔗 Share this article

The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, after rejecting a American suggestion for him to hand over duties to a lower-ranking embassy official for the next summit in Florida.

Event Overshadowed by American Absence

The host nation portrayed the two-day event as a victory for global cooperation, but it was diminished by a boycott by the US, which has repeatedly accused South Africa of discriminating against white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been widely discredited.

“We have gathered in the face of significant challenges and demonstrated our ability to come together, even in periods of hardship, to pursue a better world,” Ramaphosa stated in his final address.

Concluding his remarks, he announced: “This gavel 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 reconvene next year.” It represented Ramaphosa’s only mention of the nation absent from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

Summit Communique Focuses On Global Warming and Gender Equality

The G20 released a statement on Saturday stressing the importance to address environmental crises and achieve “equal opportunities for all genders.” Donald Trump’s administration had pulled out of the Paris climate agreement on the first day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle sexism, racism and homophobia.

White House Response

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

“This, combined with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 leaders’ declaration, despite consistent and strong American opposition, highlights the reality that they have exploited their leadership role to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she remarked.

Transition Procedure Controversy

South Africa had offered to arrange for an similarly ranked official to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Officials had stated it would breach protocol for Ramaphosa to give it to the US acting ambassador.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, told reporters: “We have done our part. Our role is complete. It’s up to them. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Upcoming Gathering and Other Notable Non-Attendances

The 2026 summit is scheduled to take place at the Trump National Doral Miami golfing facility, which is owned by the Trump Organization.

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, also refused to endorse the declaration. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, said: “In particular, it deals with the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that fails to capture its full complexity.”

The G20 document read: “We will work for a fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution in Sudan and the DRC, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and global hostilities.”

Group of Twenty History

The G20 was founded in the wake of the Asian financial crisis in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The African Union was added in 2023.

The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico's leader Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. Putin is wanted by the ICC, to which South Africa is a signatory. The Chinese president has assigned attending many international gatherings this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.