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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 transfer authority to a relatively junior embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida.

Summit Marred by US Boycott

South Africa presented the 48-hour conference as a triumph for multilateralism, but it was diminished by a boycott by the US, which has repeatedly accused South Africa of showing bias toward white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been broadly refuted.

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

Wrapping up his speech, he announced: “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 assembly of major global powers.

Summit Communique Highlights Global Warming and Gender Equality

The G20 released a statement on Saturday stressing the importance to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the first day of his second term and has reversed many policies aimed at combating discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

US Administration Reaction

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

“This, combined with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 summit statement, despite consistent and strong American opposition, underscores the fact that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she stated.

Transition Procedure Controversy

South Africa had offered to arrange for an similarly ranked official to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Authorities explained it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to pass it to the US interim envoy.

South Africa’s top diplomat, Ronald Lamola, told reporters: “We have done our part. We are done. The decision is theirs. 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.

The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei skipped the summit, also refused to endorse the communique. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, commented: “Specifically it addresses the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that does not fully reflect its entire intricacy.”

The G20 communique stated: “We will work for a fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, 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 AU was added in 2023.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mexico's leader Claudia Sheinbaum were also not present at the meeting. Putin is wanted 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 prime minister, Li Qiang.