🔗 Share this article South Africa's President Brings to a Close G20 Summit Following US Boycott and Handover Dispute The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the G20 summit in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, following his refusal of a US proposal for him to transfer authority to a lower-ranking embassy official for the next summit in Florida. Event Overshadowed by US Boycott South Africa presented 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 discriminating against white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been broadly refuted. “We have gathered 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 final address. Concluding his remarks, he noted: “This ceremonial hammer 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 Highlights Global Warming and Equal Rights 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 environmental accord on the initial day of his new mandate and has overturned numerous measures aimed at combating sexism, racism and homophobia. US Administration Reaction 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 summit statement, notwithstanding repeated and robust US objections, highlights the reality that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she stated. Transition Procedure Controversy South Africa had offered to arrange for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Authorities explained it would breach protocol for Ramaphosa to pass it to the US acting ambassador. South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, told reporters: “From us, the ball has moved. We are done. The decision is theirs. If they want to come, we are available.” Future Summit and Additional Absences The 2026 summit is scheduled to take place at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort, which is under Trump corporate ownership. Argentina, whose president Javier Milei did not attend, also declined to support the communique. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, commented: “Specifically it addresses the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that fails to capture its full complexity.” The G20 document read: “We will work for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, as well as resolving additional disputes 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 Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. The Russian president faces an arrest warrant by the international criminal court, to which South Africa is a member state. The Chinese president has assigned attending many international gatherings this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.