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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the G20 summit in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, following his refusal of 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

The host nation portrayed the two-day event as a triumph for multilateralism, 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 broadly refuted.

“We have gathered in the face of major obstacles and shown our capacity to unite, even in periods of hardship, to strive for global improvement,” Ramaphosa stated in his final address.

Concluding his remarks, he noted: “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.” It represented Ramaphosa’s only mention of the country missing from the assembly of major global powers.

G20 Declaration Highlights Climate Change and Gender Equality

The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday emphasizing the need to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” Donald Trump’s administration had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the initial day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures aimed at combating sexism, racism and homophobia.

White House Response

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly accused Ramaphosa of “declining to enable a smooth transition 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 weaponised their G20 presidency to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” 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. Officials had stated it would breach protocol 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. Our role is complete. It’s up to them. If they want to come, we are available.”

Upcoming Gathering and Additional Absences

The 2026 conference is set to occur at the Trump-owned Doral Miami golf resort, which is owned by the Trump Organization.

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, also refused to endorse the communique. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, said: “In particular, it deals with the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that does not fully reflect its entire intricacy.”

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

G20 Background

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

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico’s 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.