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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the G20 summit in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, after rejecting a American suggestion for him to transfer authority to a relatively junior embassy official for the next summit in Florida.

Summit Marred by US Boycott

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

“We have gathered in the face of significant challenges and shown our capacity to come together, even in times of great difficulty, to strive for global improvement,” Ramaphosa stated in his final address.

Concluding his remarks, he noted: “This gavel of this G20 summit officially concludes 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 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 climate agreement on the first day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures aimed at combating discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

US Administration Reaction

US administration representative Anna Kelly claimed the president of “declining to enable a smooth transition 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 exploited their leadership role to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she remarked.

Handover Protocol Controversy

South Africa had proposed to organize for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Authorities explained it would breach protocol for Ramaphosa to pass it to the US interim envoy.

South Africa’s top diplomat, Ronald Lamola, told reporters: “From us, the ball has moved. We are done. The decision is theirs. If they want to come, we are available.”

Upcoming Gathering and Additional Absences

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

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei did not attend, also declined to support 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 entire intricacy.”

The G20 communique stated: “We will work for a fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, as well as resolving additional disputes and global hostilities.”

Group of Twenty History

The G20 was established following the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The African Union was incorporated last year.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. Putin is wanted by the ICC, to which South Africa is a signatory. The Chinese president has assigned participation in numerous global events this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.