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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the Group of Twenty meeting 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.

Event Overshadowed by US Boycott

The host nation portrayed 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 periods of hardship, to strive for global improvement,” the president declared in his final address.

Wrapping up his speech, he announced: “This gavel of this G20 summit officially concludes 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.” This was Ramaphosa’s sole reference of the country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

Summit Communique Highlights Global Warming and Gender Equality

The G20 released a statement 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 initial day of his second term 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 “declining to enable a smooth transition of the G20 presidency.”

“This, combined with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 summit statement, despite consistent and strong American opposition, underscores the fact that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she stated.

Handover Protocol Controversy

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 give it to the US acting ambassador.

South Africa’s top diplomat, Ronald Lamola, told reporters: “From us, the ball has moved. We are done. It’s up to them. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Upcoming Gathering and Other Notable Non-Attendances

The 2026 summit is set to occur at the Trump National Doral Miami golfing facility, which is under Trump corporate ownership.

The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei skipped the summit, also refused to endorse the declaration. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, said: “In particular, it deals with the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that fails to capture its full complexity.”

The G20 communique stated: “We are committed 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 global hostilities.”

G20 Background

The G20 was established following the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 nations and the European Union. The African Union was added in 2023.

The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, China’s 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 participation in numerous global events this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.