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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, after rejecting a American suggestion for him to hand over duties to a relatively junior embassy official for the next summit in Florida.

Summit Marred by US Boycott

The host nation portrayed the 48-hour conference as a victory for global cooperation, but it was overshadowed by a boycott by the US, which has consistently alleged South Africa of showing bias toward white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been widely discredited.

“We’ve met in the face of significant challenges and shown our capacity to come together, even in periods of hardship, to pursue a better world,” the president declared in his closing speech.

Wrapping up his speech, 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 country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

G20 Declaration Focuses On Global Warming and Equal Rights

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

US Administration Reaction

White House spokesperson 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 robust US objections, highlights the reality that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she stated.

Handover Protocol Disagreement

South Africa had proposed to organize for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the diplomatic headquarters. Officials had stated it would breach protocol for Ramaphosa to pass it to the US acting ambassador.

South Africa’s top diplomat, 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.”

Upcoming Gathering and Other Notable Non-Attendances

The 2026 summit is set to occur at the Trump-owned Doral Miami golf resort, which is under Trump corporate ownership.

The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei did not attend, also declined to support the communique. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, said: “Specifically it addresses the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that fails to capture its entire intricacy.”

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 resolving additional disputes and global hostilities.”

Group of Twenty History

The G20 was established following the Asian financial crisis in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The African Union was added in 2023.

The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also not present at the meeting. The Russian president faces an arrest warrant by the ICC, to which South Africa is a signatory. The Chinese president has assigned attending many international gatherings this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.