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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the G20 summit in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, following his refusal of a US proposal 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 two-day event as a victory for global cooperation, but it was diminished 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’ve met in the face of significant challenges and demonstrated our ability to unite, even in periods of hardship, to strive for global improvement,” the president declared in his closing speech.

Wrapping up his speech, 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.

Summit Communique Focuses On Global Warming and Gender Equality

The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday emphasizing the need to address environmental crises and achieve “gender equality.” The Trump government had pulled out of the Paris climate agreement on the initial day of his second term and has reversed many policies designed to tackle sexism, racism and homophobia.

White House Response

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

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

Transition Procedure Disagreement

South Africa had proposed to organize for an similarly ranked official to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the diplomatic headquarters. Authorities explained it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US acting ambassador.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, told reporters: “From us, the ball has moved. Our role is complete. The decision is theirs. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Upcoming Gathering and Additional Absences

The 2026 conference is set to occur at the Trump-owned Doral Miami golf resort, 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, commented: “In particular, it deals with the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that fails to capture its entire intricacy.”

The G20 communique stated: “We are committed for a fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution in Sudan and the DRC, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 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.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also not present at the meeting. The Russian president faces an arrest warrant by the ICC, to which South Africa is a member state. The Chinese president has assigned attending many international gatherings this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.