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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, following his refusal of a American suggestion for him to hand over duties 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 diminished by a boycott by the US, 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 significant challenges and demonstrated our ability to come together, even in periods of hardship, to pursue a better world,” the president declared in his closing speech.

Concluding his remarks, he noted: “This gavel of this G20 summit formally closes this summit and now moves on 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 only mention of the country missing from the assembly of major global powers.

G20 Declaration Highlights Climate Change and Equal Rights

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 Donald Trump’s administration had withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement on the initial day of his new mandate and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle sexism, racism and homophobia.

White House Response

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly claimed the president of “declining to enable a seamless handover of the G20 presidency.”

“This, combined with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 leaders’ declaration, despite consistent and robust US objections, underscores the fact that they have exploited their leadership role 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 foreign ministry. Authorities explained it would breach protocol for Ramaphosa to give it to the US interim envoy.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “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 conference is scheduled to take place at the Trump National Doral Miami golfing facility, 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, said: “In particular, it deals with 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 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 nations and the European Union. The African Union was incorporated last year.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico's leader 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 participation in numerous global events this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.