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The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, after rejecting a American suggestion for him to hand over duties to a relatively junior embassy official for the next summit in Florida.

Summit Marred by US Boycott

The host nation portrayed the 48-hour conference as a triumph for multilateralism, but it was overshadowed by a boycott by the US, which has consistently alleged South Africa of showing bias toward white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been widely discredited.

“We have gathered in the face of major obstacles and demonstrated our ability to come together, even in periods of hardship, to pursue a better world,” Ramaphosa stated in his closing speech.

Concluding his remarks, he noted: “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 only mention of the nation absent from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

Summit Communique Highlights Global Warming and Equal Rights

The G20 released a statement on Saturday stressing the importance to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” Donald Trump’s administration had pulled out of the Paris climate agreement on the initial day of his new mandate and has reversed many policies designed to tackle discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

White House Response

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly accused Ramaphosa of “refusing to facilitate a seamless handover of the G20 presidency.”

“This, combined with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 leaders’ declaration, notwithstanding repeated and strong American opposition, underscores the fact that they have exploited their leadership role to weaken the group’s core values,” she remarked.

Handover Protocol Disagreement

South Africa had offered to arrange for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the diplomatic headquarters. Officials had stated it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US interim envoy.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “We have done our part. We are done. It’s up to them. If they want to come, we are available.”

Future Summit and Additional Absences

The 2026 summit is set to occur at the Trump-owned Doral Miami golfing facility, which is owned by the Trump Organization.

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, also declined to support the communique. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, said: “In particular, it deals with the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that does not fully reflect its full complexity.”

The G20 communique stated: “We will work for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace 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 established following the Asian financial crisis in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. 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. Putin is wanted by the international criminal court, to which South Africa is a signatory. The Chinese president has assigned participation in numerous global events this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.