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The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, after rejecting a American suggestion for him to hand over duties to a relatively junior embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida.

Event Overshadowed by American Absence

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 showing bias toward white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been widely discredited.

“We have gathered in the face of significant challenges and shown our capacity to unite, even in periods of hardship, to strive for global improvement,” the president declared in his closing speech.

Concluding his remarks, he announced: “This gavel of this G20 summit officially concludes this summit and now moves on to the subsequent leader of the G20, which is the United States, where we shall reconvene next year.” This was Ramaphosa’s only mention of the country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

G20 Declaration Highlights Climate Change and Equal Rights

The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday emphasizing the need to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” Donald Trump’s administration had pulled out of the Paris environmental accord on the first day of his new mandate and has reversed many policies designed to tackle sexism, racism and homophobia.

White House Response

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly claimed the president of “refusing to facilitate a seamless handover of the G20 presidency.”

“This, combined with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 leaders’ declaration, despite consistent and robust US objections, highlights the reality that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she remarked.

Transition Procedure Controversy

South Africa had offered to arrange for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Authorities explained it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US acting ambassador.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “From us, the ball has moved. Our role is complete. It’s up to them. 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 golf resort, which is owned by the Trump Organization.

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei did not attend, also declined to support the declaration. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, commented: “Specifically it addresses the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that does not fully reflect its entire intricacy.”

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 ending other conflicts and global hostilities.”

G20 Background

The G20 was founded in the wake of the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 nations and the European Union. The African Union was incorporated last year.

The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico's leader Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. Putin is wanted by the international criminal court, to which South Africa is a member state. Xi has delegated participation in numerous global events this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.