🔗 Share this article

The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the G20 summit 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 American Absence

South Africa presented the 48-hour conference as a victory for global cooperation, 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 major obstacles and shown our capacity to unite, even in times of great difficulty, to strive for global improvement,” Ramaphosa stated in his final address.

Concluding his remarks, he noted: “This ceremonial hammer 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 nation absent from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

G20 Declaration Focuses On Climate Change and Gender Equality

The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday stressing the importance to address environmental crises and achieve “gender equality.” The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the initial day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

US Administration Reaction

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

“This, combined with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 summit statement, notwithstanding repeated and robust US objections, highlights the reality that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she remarked.

Handover Protocol Disagreement

South Africa had offered to arrange 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 acting ambassador.

South Africa’s foreign minister, 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 summit is scheduled to take place at the Trump National Doral Miami golfing facility, which is under Trump corporate ownership.

The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei skipped the summit, also refused to endorse the communique. Its foreign minister, 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 fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution in Sudan and the DRC, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and global hostilities.”

Group of Twenty History

The G20 was founded in the wake of the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The AU was incorporated last year.

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