South Africa's President Concludes G20 Summit Following American Withdrawal and Handover Dispute
The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the G20 summit in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, following his refusal of a American suggestion for him to hand over duties to a relatively junior embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida.
Summit Marred by American Absence
The host nation portrayed the two-day event as a triumph for multilateralism, but it was diminished by a boycott by the US, which has consistently alleged South Africa of showing bias toward white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been widely discredited.
“We’ve met in the face of major obstacles and demonstrated our ability to come together, even in periods of hardship, to strive for global improvement,” Ramaphosa stated in his closing speech.
Wrapping up his speech, he announced: “This ceremonial hammer 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 assembly of major global powers.
G20 Declaration Focuses On Global Warming and Equal Rights
The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday stressing the importance to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” Donald Trump’s administration had withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement on the initial day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle sexism, racism and homophobia.
US Administration Reaction
US administration representative 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.
Handover Protocol Disagreement
South Africa had proposed to organize for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to officially transfer 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. We are done. It’s up to them. If they want to come, we are available.”
Future Summit and Additional Absences
The 2026 conference is set to occur at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort, which is owned by the Trump Organization.
Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, also declined to support the declaration. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, said: “In particular, it deals with the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that does not fully reflect its full complexity.”
The G20 communique stated: “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 global hostilities.”
Group of Twenty History
The G20 was established following the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The AU was added in 2023.
The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mexico's leader Claudia Sheinbaum were also not present at the meeting. Putin is wanted by the international criminal court, to which South Africa is a member state. Xi has delegated attending many international gatherings this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.
