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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the G20 summit in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, after rejecting a American suggestion for him to transfer authority to a lower-ranking embassy official for the next summit in Florida.

Summit Marred by US Boycott

South Africa presented the 48-hour conference as a victory for global cooperation, but it was overshadowed 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’ve met in the face of significant challenges and shown our capacity to come together, even in times of great difficulty, to pursue a better world,” Ramaphosa stated in his closing speech.

Concluding his remarks, 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.” This was Ramaphosa’s only mention of the country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

Summit Communique Highlights Climate Change 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 The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement on the initial day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle sexism, racism and homophobia.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, coupled with South Africa’s push to issue 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 stated.

Handover Protocol Controversy

South Africa had proposed to organize for an similarly ranked official to officially transfer 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: “We have done our part. Our role is complete. The decision is theirs. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Future Summit and Additional Absences

The 2026 summit is scheduled to take place at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort, which is owned by the Trump Organization.

The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei did not attend, 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 fails to capture its entire intricacy.”

The G20 document read: “We will work for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan and the DRC, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, as well as resolving additional disputes and wars around the globe.”

G20 Background

The G20 was founded in the wake of the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The African Union was incorporated last year.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also not present at the meeting. Putin is wanted by the ICC, to which South Africa is a signatory. The Chinese president has assigned attending many international gatherings this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.