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The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, after rejecting a US proposal 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 victory for global cooperation, but it was overshadowed by a boycott by the US, which has consistently alleged South Africa of discriminating against white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been broadly refuted.

“We’ve met 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 noted: “This gavel 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 Equal Rights

The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday stressing the importance to address environmental crises and achieve “equal opportunities for all genders.” Donald Trump’s administration had pulled out of the Paris climate agreement on the initial day of his new mandate and has reversed many policies aimed at combating discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

US Administration Reaction

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly accused Ramaphosa of “refusing to facilitate a smooth transition of the G20 presidency.”

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

Handover Protocol Controversy

South Africa had proposed to organize for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Officials had stated it would breach protocol for Ramaphosa to give it to the US interim envoy.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, told reporters: “From us, the ball has moved. We are done. It’s up to them. If they want to come, we are available.”

Future Summit and Other Notable Non-Attendances

The 2026 conference 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 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 communique stated: “We will work for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan and the DRC, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and global hostilities.”

G20 Background

The G20 was established following the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 nations and the European Union. The African Union was added in 2023.

The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also not present at the meeting. Putin is wanted by the international criminal court, to which South Africa is a signatory. The Chinese president has assigned participation in numerous global events this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.