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The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, after rejecting a US proposal for him to hand over duties to a relatively junior embassy official for the next summit in Florida.

Event Overshadowed by US Boycott

The host nation portrayed the 48-hour conference as a victory for global cooperation, but it was diminished by a withdrawal of the United States, which has consistently alleged 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 demonstrated our ability to unite, even in times of great difficulty, to pursue a better world,” the president declared in his final address.

Concluding his remarks, he announced: “This gavel of this G20 summit officially concludes this summit and now moves on to the next president 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 assembly of major global powers.

Summit Communique Focuses On Climate Change and Gender Equality

The G20 released a statement on Saturday stressing the importance to address environmental crises and achieve “gender equality.” Donald Trump’s administration had pulled out of the Paris climate agreement on the first day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures aimed at combating sexism, racism and homophobia.

US Administration Reaction

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 exploited their leadership role to weaken the group’s core values,” she stated.

Transition Procedure Controversy

South Africa had proposed to organize 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 interim envoy.

South Africa’s top diplomat, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “We have done our part. Our role is complete. It’s up to them. If they want to come, we are available.”

Future Summit and Other Notable Non-Attendances

The 2026 conference is scheduled to take place at the Trump National Doral Miami golfing facility, which is under Trump corporate ownership.

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, also declined to support the communique. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, said: “In particular, it deals with the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that does not fully reflect its entire intricacy.”

The G20 communique stated: “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.”

G20 Background

The G20 was established following the Asian financial crisis 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. 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 participation in numerous global events this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.