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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the G20 summit in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, following his refusal of a American suggestion for him to hand over duties to a lower-ranking embassy official for the next summit in Florida.

Event Overshadowed by American Absence

The host nation portrayed the 48-hour conference as a triumph for multilateralism, 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 widely discredited.

“We have gathered in the face of major obstacles and shown our capacity to come together, even in periods of hardship, to pursue a better world,” 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.” It represented Ramaphosa’s sole reference of the country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

Summit Communique Focuses On Climate Change and Equal Rights

The G20 released a statement on Saturday stressing the importance to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” Donald Trump’s administration had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the first day of his new mandate and has reversed many policies designed to tackle sexism, racism and homophobia.

White House Response

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

“This, combined with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 leaders’ declaration, notwithstanding repeated and robust US objections, highlights the reality that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she remarked.

Transition Procedure Controversy

South Africa had proposed to organize for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the diplomatic headquarters. Authorities explained it would breach protocol for Ramaphosa to give it to the US acting ambassador.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, told reporters: “From us, the ball has moved. We are done. The decision is theirs. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Future Summit and Other Notable Non-Attendances

The 2026 summit is set to occur at the Trump National Doral Miami golfing facility, which is under Trump corporate ownership.

The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei skipped the summit, also declined to support the declaration. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, commented: “Specifically it addresses the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that fails to capture its full complexity.”

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 global hostilities.”

Group of Twenty History

The G20 was established following the Asian financial crisis in 1999, with 19 nations and the European Union. The AU was incorporated last year.

The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico's leader Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. The Russian president faces an arrest warrant 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.