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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, 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 48-hour conference as a triumph for multilateralism, but it was diminished by a withdrawal of the United States, which has repeatedly accused South Africa of discriminating against white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been broadly refuted.

“We’ve met in the face of major obstacles and shown our capacity to unite, even in times of great difficulty, to pursue a better world,” Ramaphosa stated in his final address.

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 country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

G20 Declaration Focuses On Global Warming and Gender Equality

The G20 released a statement on Saturday emphasizing the need 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 The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the initial day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures aimed at combating sexism, racism and homophobia.

White House Response

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

“This, coupled with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 summit statement, despite consistent and robust US objections, underscores the fact that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she remarked.

Transition Procedure Controversy

South Africa had offered to arrange for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the diplomatic headquarters. Authorities explained it would breach protocol for Ramaphosa to pass it to the US acting ambassador.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “We have done our part. We are done. The decision is theirs. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Upcoming Gathering and Additional Absences

The 2026 summit is set to occur at the Trump-owned Doral Miami golfing facility, which is owned by the Trump Organization.

The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei did not attend, also refused to endorse the communique. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, said: “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 fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and global hostilities.”

G20 Background

The G20 was established following the Asian economic turmoil 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 leader Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. Putin is wanted by the ICC, to which South Africa is a member state. Xi has delegated attending many international gatherings this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.