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The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the G20 summit in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, after rejecting a American suggestion for him to hand over duties to a lower-ranking embassy official for the next summit in Florida.

Summit Marred by US Boycott

The host nation portrayed the 48-hour conference as a victory for global cooperation, 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 broadly refuted.

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

Concluding his remarks, he announced: “This gavel of this G20 summit formally closes this summit and now moves on to the subsequent leader 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.

G20 Declaration Focuses On Global Warming and Equal Rights

The G20 released a statement on Saturday stressing the importance to tackle climate change and achieve “equal opportunities for all genders.” Donald Trump’s administration had pulled out of the Paris environmental accord on the first day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

US Administration Reaction

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

“This, coupled with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 summit statement, despite consistent and robust US objections, underscores the fact that they have exploited their leadership role to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” 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 top diplomat, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “From us, the ball has moved. We are done. The decision is theirs. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

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.

The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei did not attend, also declined to support the communique. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, said: “Specifically it addresses the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that fails to capture its full complexity.”

The G20 communique stated: “We are committed for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and wars around the globe.”

Group of Twenty History

The G20 was established following the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The African Union was incorporated last year.

The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also not present at the meeting. 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 prime minister, Li Qiang.