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The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the G20 summit in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, after rejecting a American suggestion for him to transfer authority to a relatively junior embassy official for the upcoming gathering 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 withdrawal of the United States, which has consistently alleged South Africa of discriminating against white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been widely discredited.

“We’ve met in the face of significant challenges and demonstrated our ability to come together, even in periods of hardship, to strive for global improvement,” Ramaphosa stated in his closing speech.

Concluding his remarks, he announced: “This ceremonial hammer of this G20 summit formally closes this summit and now proceeds to the subsequent leader of the G20, which is the United States, where we shall reconvene next year.” This was Ramaphosa’s sole reference of the country missing from the assembly of major global powers.

Summit Communique Focuses On Global Warming and Equal Rights

The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday emphasizing the need to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the initial day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures aimed at combating sexism, racism and homophobia.

White House Response

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

“This, coupled with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 leaders’ declaration, despite consistent and robust US objections, highlights the reality that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she remarked.

Handover Protocol Disagreement

South Africa had proposed to organize 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 interim envoy.

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

Future Summit and Other Notable Non-Attendances

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

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, also refused to endorse the declaration. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, commented: “Specifically it addresses the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that does not fully reflect its full complexity.”

The G20 document read: “We will work for a fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution in Sudan and the DRC, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, as well as resolving additional disputes and global hostilities.”

Group of Twenty History

The G20 was founded in the wake of the Asian financial crisis in 1999, with 19 nations and the European Union. The AU was incorporated last year.

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 international criminal court, to which South Africa is a member state. Xi has delegated attending many international gatherings this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.