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The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, following his refusal of a US proposal for him to hand over duties to a relatively junior embassy official for the next summit in Florida.

Event Overshadowed by American Absence

The host nation portrayed the two-day event as a victory for global cooperation, 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 demonstrated our ability to come together, even in periods of hardship, to pursue a better world,” Ramaphosa stated in his closing speech.

Wrapping up his speech, he announced: “This gavel of this G20 summit formally closes 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 only mention of the country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

Summit Communique Focuses On Global Warming and Equal Rights

The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday emphasizing the need to address environmental crises and achieve “equal opportunities for all genders.” The Trump government had pulled out of the Paris climate agreement on the first day of his new mandate and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle sexism, racism and homophobia.

US Administration Reaction

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

“This, coupled with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 leaders’ declaration, notwithstanding repeated and strong American opposition, highlights the reality that they have exploited their leadership role to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she stated.

Transition Procedure Controversy

South Africa had offered to arrange for an similarly ranked official to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the diplomatic headquarters. Officials had stated it would breach protocol for Ramaphosa to pass it to the US interim envoy.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “We have done our part. 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 National Doral Miami golfing facility, which is owned by the Trump Organization.

The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei skipped the summit, also declined to support the declaration. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, said: “Specifically it addresses the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that does not fully reflect its full complexity.”

The G20 communique stated: “We are committed for a fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution in Sudan and the DRC, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and wars around the globe.”

Group of Twenty History

The G20 was established following the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The African Union was added in 2023.

The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Chinese President 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 member state. Xi has delegated participation in numerous global events this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.