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The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the G20 summit in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, following his refusal of a US proposal for him to hand over duties to a lower-ranking embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida.

Summit Marred by US Boycott

South Africa presented the two-day event as a triumph for multilateralism, but it was overshadowed 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’ve met in the face of major obstacles and shown our capacity to unite, even in periods of hardship, to pursue a better world,” Ramaphosa stated in his closing speech.

Wrapping up his speech, he noted: “This ceremonial hammer 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.” This was Ramaphosa’s sole reference of the nation absent from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

G20 Declaration Highlights Global Warming and Gender Equality

The G20 released a statement on Saturday emphasizing the need to address environmental crises and achieve “gender equality.” The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the first day of his new mandate and has reversed many policies aimed at combating discrimination based on gender, race,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 “declining to enable a smooth transition of the G20 presidency.”

“This, coupled with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 leaders’ declaration, despite consistent and robust US objections, highlights the reality that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she stated.

Handover Protocol 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 give it to the US acting ambassador.

South Africa’s top diplomat, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “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 conference is scheduled to take place at the Trump-owned Doral Miami golf resort, which is owned by the Trump Organization.

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, 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 full complexity.”

The G20 document read: “We are committed 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 global hostilities.”

Group of Twenty History

The G20 was founded in the wake of the Asian financial crisis in 1999, with 19 nations and the European Union. The African Union was incorporated last year.

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