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The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the G20 summit in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, following his refusal of a American suggestion for him to transfer authority to a lower-ranking embassy official for the next summit in Florida.

Event Overshadowed by US Boycott

The host nation portrayed the two-day event as a triumph for multilateralism, but it was diminished by a boycott by the US, which has consistently alleged South Africa of discriminating against white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been widely discredited.

“We’ve met in the face of significant challenges and demonstrated our ability to unite, even in times of great difficulty, to strive for global improvement,” the president declared in his final address.

Concluding his remarks, he announced: “This gavel 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 reconvene next year.” This was Ramaphosa’s sole reference of the country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

G20 Declaration Highlights 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 The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement on the first day of his new mandate and has reversed many policies designed to tackle discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

White House Response

US administration representative Anna Kelly accused Ramaphosa of “declining to enable a smooth transition of the G20 presidency.”

“This, combined with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 leaders’ declaration, notwithstanding repeated and strong American opposition, highlights the reality that they have exploited their leadership role to weaken the group’s core values,” she remarked.

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 diplomatic headquarters. Officials had stated it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to pass it to the US acting ambassador.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “From us, the ball has moved. We are done. The decision is theirs. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Upcoming Gathering and Other Notable Non-Attendances

The 2026 conference is scheduled to take place at the Trump-owned Doral Miami golfing facility, which is under Trump corporate ownership.

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, also refused to endorse the declaration. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, said: “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 will work for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan and the DRC, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and global hostilities.”

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 incorporated last year.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico's leader Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. Putin is wanted by the international criminal court, to which South Africa is a signatory. The Chinese president has assigned attending many international gatherings this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.