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The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the G20 summit in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, following his refusal of a US proposal for him to transfer authority to a relatively junior embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida.

Event Overshadowed by US Boycott

South Africa presented the two-day event as a triumph for multilateralism, but it was diminished 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’ve met in the face of major obstacles and shown our capacity to unite, even in periods of hardship, to strive for global improvement,” Ramaphosa stated in his closing speech.

Wrapping up his speech, he announced: “This ceremonial hammer 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.” It represented Ramaphosa’s only mention of the country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

Summit Communique Highlights Climate Change and Gender Equality

The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday emphasizing the need to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” Donald Trump’s administration had withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement on the first day of his second term and has reversed many policies aimed at combating sexism, racism and homophobia.

White House Response

White House spokesperson 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 leaders’ declaration, despite consistent and robust US objections, highlights the reality that they have exploited their leadership role to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she stated.

Transition Procedure Disagreement

South Africa had proposed to organize for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Officials had stated it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US acting ambassador.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “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 summit is set to occur at the Trump-owned Doral Miami golfing facility, which is owned by the Trump Organization.

The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei did not attend, also declined to support the communique. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, said: “Specifically it addresses the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that does not fully reflect its entire intricacy.”

The G20 document read: “We are committed for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan and the DRC, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and global hostilities.”

G20 Background

The G20 was established following the Asian financial crisis in 1999, with 19 nations and the European Union. The African Union was added in 2023.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also not present at the meeting. The Russian president faces an arrest warrant by the ICC, to which South Africa is a signatory. Xi has delegated participation in numerous global events this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.