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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 transfer authority to a relatively junior embassy official for the next summit in Florida.

Event Overshadowed by American Absence

South Africa presented the 48-hour conference as a triumph for multilateralism, but it was overshadowed by a withdrawal of the United States, 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 pursue a better world,” the president declared in his final address.

Concluding his remarks, he announced: “This gavel of this G20 summit formally closes this summit and now proceeds 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 country missing from the assembly of major global powers.

Summit Communique Highlights 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 environmental accord on the first day of his second term and has reversed many policies designed to tackle discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

White House Response

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly accused Ramaphosa of “refusing to facilitate a smooth transition of the G20 presidency.”

“This, combined with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 summit statement, despite consistent and strong American opposition, highlights the reality that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she stated.

Handover Protocol Controversy

South Africa had proposed to organize for an similarly ranked official to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the diplomatic headquarters. Authorities explained it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US interim envoy.

South Africa’s top diplomat, Ronald Lamola, told reporters: “From us, the ball has moved. We are done. It’s up to them. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Future Summit and Additional Absences

The 2026 conference is set to occur at the Trump-owned Doral Miami golf resort, which is owned by the Trump Organization.

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, also refused to endorse the communique. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, commented: “In particular, it deals with the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that fails to capture its full complexity.”

The G20 document read: “We will work for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan and the DRC, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, as well as resolving additional disputes and global hostilities.”

G20 Background

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

The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. Putin is wanted 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.