🔗 Share this article

The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the G20 summit in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, after rejecting a US proposal for him to hand over duties to a lower-ranking embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida.

Summit Marred by American Absence

South Africa presented the 48-hour conference as a triumph for multilateralism, but it was diminished 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 widely discredited.

“We have gathered in the face of major obstacles and shown our capacity to unite, even in times of great difficulty, to pursue a better world,” the president declared in his closing speech.

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

Summit Communique Focuses On Climate Change and Gender Equality

The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday emphasizing the need to address environmental crises and achieve “gender equality.” Donald Trump’s administration had pulled out of the Paris climate agreement on the initial 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 claimed the president of “declining to enable a seamless handover of the G20 presidency.”

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

Handover Protocol Disagreement

South Africa had proposed to organize for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to formally hand 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 interim envoy.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “We have done our part. We are done. It’s up to them. If they want to come, we are available.”

Future Summit and Additional Absences

The 2026 conference is scheduled to take place at the Trump National Doral Miami golfing facility, 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 foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, said: “Specifically it addresses the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that does not fully reflect its full complexity.”

The G20 communique stated: “We will work for a fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and global hostilities.”

G20 Background

The G20 was established following the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. 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. The Chinese president has assigned attending many international gatherings this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.