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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed 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 next summit in Florida.

Event Overshadowed 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 discriminating against white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been broadly refuted.

“We’ve met in the face of significant challenges and demonstrated our ability to come together, even in times of great difficulty, to strive for global improvement,” Ramaphosa stated in his final address.

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 reconvene next year.” It represented Ramaphosa’s sole reference of the country missing from the assembly of major global powers.

G20 Declaration Highlights Global Warming and Equal Rights

The G20 released a statement on Saturday stressing the importance to address environmental crises and achieve “equal opportunities for all genders.” The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement on the initial day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures aimed at combating discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

White House Response

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, despite consistent and robust US objections, highlights the reality that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” 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 foreign ministry. Officials had stated it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to pass it to the US interim envoy.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, told reporters: “We have done our part. We are done. 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 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 communique. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, commented: “In particular, it deals with the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that does not fully reflect its entire intricacy.”

The G20 communique stated: “We are committed for a fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, as well as resolving additional disputes and global hostilities.”

G20 Background

The G20 was established following the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 nations and the European Union. The AU was incorporated last year.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico's leader Claudia Sheinbaum were also not present at the meeting. 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 participation in numerous global events this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.