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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, 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 two-day event as a triumph for multilateralism, but it was diminished by a withdrawal of the United States, which has consistently alleged South Africa of discriminating against white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been broadly refuted.

“We have gathered in the face of significant challenges and shown our capacity to come together, even in times of great difficulty, to strive for global improvement,” Ramaphosa stated in his closing speech.

Concluding his remarks, he announced: “This ceremonial hammer of this G20 summit formally closes this summit and now proceeds to the subsequent leader of the G20, which is the United States, where we shall reconvene next year.” This was Ramaphosa’s only mention of the country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

G20 Declaration Highlights Climate Change and Gender Equality

The G20 released a statement on Saturday stressing the importance to address environmental crises and achieve “gender equality.” The Trump government had pulled out of the Paris climate agreement on the first day of his new mandate and has reversed many policies designed to tackle sexism, racism and homophobia.

White House Response

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

“This, coupled with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 summit statement, despite consistent and strong American opposition, underscores the fact that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she remarked.

Handover Protocol Controversy

South Africa had proposed to organize for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the diplomatic headquarters. Officials had stated it would breach protocol for Ramaphosa to give it to the US interim envoy.

South Africa’s top diplomat, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “We have done our part. We are done. It’s up to them. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Future Summit and Other Notable Non-Attendances

The 2026 conference is scheduled to take place at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort, which is under Trump corporate ownership.

The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei skipped the summit, also refused to endorse the declaration. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, said: “Specifically it addresses the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that does not fully reflect 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 resolving additional disputes and wars around the globe.”

Group of Twenty History

The G20 was established following the Asian financial crisis in 1999, with 19 nations and the European Union. The AU was added in 2023.

The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. 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 prime minister, Li Qiang.