🔗 Share this article

The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, after rejecting a American suggestion for him to hand over duties to a lower-ranking 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 diminished by a withdrawal of the United States, 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 unite, even in times of great difficulty, to strive for global improvement,” the president declared in his final address.

Concluding his remarks, he noted: “This ceremonial hammer of this G20 summit formally closes 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 sole reference of the nation absent from the assembly of major global powers.

G20 Declaration Focuses On Global Warming and Equal Rights

The G20 released a statement on Saturday emphasizing the need to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the initial day of his new mandate and has overturned numerous measures aimed at combating discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

White House Response

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly accused Ramaphosa 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 strong American opposition, underscores the fact that they have exploited their leadership role to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she remarked.

Transition Procedure Controversy

South Africa had proposed to organize for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Authorities explained it would breach protocol for Ramaphosa to give it to the US interim envoy.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “From us, the ball has moved. Our role is complete. The decision is theirs. If they want to come, we are available.”

Future Summit and Additional Absences

The 2026 summit is set to occur at the Trump-owned Doral Miami golf resort, which is under Trump corporate ownership.

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, also declined to support the communique. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, commented: “In particular, it deals with the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that does not fully reflect its entire intricacy.”

The G20 communique stated: “We will work for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Palestinian territories, 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 nations and the European Union. The AU was incorporated last year.

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