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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the G20 summit in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, following his refusal of a US proposal for him to transfer authority to a lower-ranking embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida.

Summit Marred by American Absence

South Africa presented the 48-hour conference as a victory for global cooperation, but it was overshadowed by a boycott by the US, which has repeatedly accused South Africa of showing bias toward white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been broadly refuted.

“We have gathered in the face of major obstacles and shown our capacity to come together, even in periods of hardship, to strive for global improvement,” Ramaphosa stated in his closing speech.

Concluding his remarks, he announced: “This gavel of this G20 summit formally closes this summit and now moves on to the subsequent leader of the G20, which is the United States, where we shall reconvene next year.” This was Ramaphosa’s sole reference 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 “equal opportunities for all genders.” Donald Trump’s administration had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the first day of his new mandate and has reversed many policies aimed at combating sexism, racism and homophobia.

White House Response

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

“This, coupled with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 summit statement, notwithstanding repeated and strong American opposition, underscores the fact that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she stated.

Handover Protocol Controversy

South Africa had proposed to organize 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 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 Additional Absences

The 2026 summit 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 declined to support the communique. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, commented: “In particular, it deals with the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that fails to capture its full complexity.”

The G20 document read: “We are committed for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan and the DRC, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and wars around the globe.”

Group of Twenty History

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

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. The Chinese president has assigned attending many international gatherings this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.