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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 American suggestion for him to hand over duties to a lower-ranking embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida.

Event Overshadowed by US Boycott

South Africa presented 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 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 strive for global improvement,” the president declared in his final address.

Wrapping up his speech, he noted: “This ceremonial hammer of this G20 summit officially concludes this summit and now proceeds to the next president of the G20, which is the United States, where we shall see each other again next year.” This was Ramaphosa’s only mention of the nation absent from the assembly of major global powers.

Summit Communique Focuses On Global Warming and Equal Rights

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 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 seamless handover of the G20 presidency.”

“This, combined with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 summit statement, despite consistent and robust US objections, underscores the fact that they have exploited their leadership role to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she stated.

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 violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US acting ambassador.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, told reporters: “We have done our part. Our role is complete. It’s up to them. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Future Summit and Additional Absences

The 2026 summit is set to occur at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort, which is owned by the Trump Organization.

The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei skipped the summit, also declined to support the declaration. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, said: “In particular, it deals with the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that does not fully reflect its entire intricacy.”

The G20 communique stated: “We are committed for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, as well as resolving additional disputes and wars around the globe.”

G20 Background

The G20 was founded in the wake of 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 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. The Chinese president has assigned participation in numerous global events this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.