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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 US proposal for him to transfer authority to a relatively junior embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida.

Summit Marred by American Absence

South Africa presented the 48-hour conference as a victory for global cooperation, but it was overshadowed by a boycott by the US, 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 come together, even in times of great difficulty, to strive for global improvement,” the president declared in his final address.

Concluding his remarks, he announced: “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 reconvene next year.” This was Ramaphosa’s sole reference of the nation absent from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

Summit Communique Highlights Global Warming and Equal Rights

The G20 released a statement on Saturday stressing the importance to tackle climate change and achieve “equal opportunities for all genders.” The Trump government had pulled out of the Paris environmental accord on the first day of his new mandate and has reversed many policies aimed at combating discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

US Administration Reaction

US administration representative Anna Kelly accused Ramaphosa of “declining to enable a seamless handover of the G20 presidency.”

“This, combined with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 leaders’ declaration, despite consistent and strong American opposition, highlights the reality that they have exploited their leadership role to weaken the group’s core values,” she remarked.

Handover Protocol Disagreement

South Africa had proposed to organize for an similarly ranked official to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Officials had stated it would breach protocol for Ramaphosa to pass it to the US interim envoy.

South Africa’s top diplomat, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “From us, the ball has moved. We are done. It’s up to them. If they want to come, we are available.”

Future Summit and Other Notable Non-Attendances

The 2026 conference is scheduled to take place at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort, which is owned by the Trump Organization.

The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei did not attend, also refused to endorse the declaration. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, commented: “Specifically it addresses the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that fails to capture its entire intricacy.”

The G20 communique stated: “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.”

Group of Twenty History

The G20 was founded in the wake of the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The African Union 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. Putin is wanted by the international criminal court, to which South Africa is a signatory. The Chinese president has assigned participation in numerous global events this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.