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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 lower-ranking embassy official for the next summit in Florida.

Event Overshadowed by US Boycott

The host nation portrayed the two-day event as a victory for global cooperation, 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 widely discredited.

“We’ve met in the face of significant challenges and demonstrated our ability to unite, even in times of great difficulty, to pursue a better world,” Ramaphosa stated in his final address.

Wrapping up his speech, he announced: “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 sole reference of the country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

Summit Communique Highlights Climate Change and Equal Rights

The G20 released a statement on Saturday emphasizing the need to address environmental crises 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 Donald Trump’s administration had withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement on the initial day of his new mandate and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

White House Response

US administration representative Anna Kelly claimed the president of “refusing to facilitate a smooth transition of the G20 presidency.”

“This, combined with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 summit statement, despite consistent and robust US objections, underscores the fact that they have exploited their leadership role to weaken the group’s core values,” she stated.

Transition Procedure Disagreement

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 violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US interim envoy.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, told reporters: “We have done our part. Our role is complete. It’s up to them. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Future Summit and Additional Absences

The 2026 summit is scheduled to take place at the Trump-owned Doral Miami golfing facility, which is under Trump corporate ownership.

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, also declined to support the declaration. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, said: “In particular, it deals with the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that fails to capture its entire intricacy.”

The G20 document read: “We will work for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Palestinian territories, 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 incorporated last year.

The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also not present at the meeting. 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.