South African President Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, after rejecting a American suggestion for him to hand over duties to a lower-ranking embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida.
South Africa presented the two-day event as a victory for global cooperation, but it was diminished 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 significant challenges and shown our capacity to unite, even in times of great difficulty, to strive for global improvement,” Ramaphosa stated in his closing speech.
Wrapping up his speech, he noted: “This gavel of this G20 summit officially concludes this summit and now proceeds to the next president of the G20, which is the United States, where we shall see each other again next year.” This was Ramaphosa’s sole reference of the nation absent from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.
The G20 released a statement on Saturday stressing the importance to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement on the initial day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.
US administration representative Anna Kelly accused Ramaphosa of “refusing to facilitate a smooth transition of the G20 presidency.”
“This, coupled with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 leaders’ declaration, despite consistent and strong American opposition, underscores the fact that they have exploited their leadership role to weaken the group’s core values,” she remarked.
South Africa had offered to arrange for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the diplomatic headquarters. Authorities explained it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to pass it to the US acting ambassador.
South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “From us, the ball has moved. Our role is complete. It’s up to them. If they want to come, we are available.”
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 did not attend, also refused to endorse the declaration. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, said: “In particular, it deals with the protracted Middle Eastern dispute 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 and the DRC, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and global hostilities.”
The G20 was established following the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The AU was incorporated last year.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also not present at the meeting. Putin is wanted by the ICC, to which South Africa is a signatory. Xi has delegated attending many international gatherings this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.
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