🔗 Share this article

The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the Group of Twenty meeting 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 upcoming gathering in Florida.

Event Overshadowed by American Absence

The host nation portrayed the 48-hour conference as a triumph for multilateralism, but it was overshadowed 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 major obstacles and demonstrated our ability to come together, even in periods of hardship, to pursue a better world,” the president declared in his closing speech.

Concluding his remarks, he noted: “This ceremonial hammer 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 country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

G20 Declaration Focuses On Climate Change and Gender Equality

The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday stressing the importance to address environmental crises and achieve “gender equality.” Donald Trump’s administration had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the initial day of his new mandate and has overturned numerous measures aimed at combating sexism, racism and homophobia.

White House Response

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

“This, combined with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 leaders’ declaration, despite consistent and strong American opposition, highlights the reality that they have exploited their leadership role to weaken the group’s core values,” she stated.

Handover Protocol Controversy

South Africa had offered to arrange for an similarly ranked official to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Authorities explained it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US acting ambassador.

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.”

Upcoming Gathering and Additional Absences

The 2026 summit is scheduled to take place at the Trump-owned 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, commented: “In particular, it deals with the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that fails to capture its entire intricacy.”

The G20 document read: “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 global hostilities.”

G20 Background

The G20 was founded in the wake of 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 not present at the meeting. Putin is wanted by the ICC, to which South Africa is a signatory. Xi has delegated attending many international gatherings this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.