🔗 Share this article South Africa's President Wraps Up G20 Summit Following American Withdrawal and Handover Dispute The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the G20 summit in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, after rejecting a US proposal for him to hand over duties to a lower-ranking embassy official for the next summit 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 repeatedly accused South Africa of showing bias toward white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been broadly refuted. “We’ve met in the face of major obstacles and shown our capacity to unite, even in periods of hardship, to strive for global improvement,” the president declared in his closing speech. Wrapping up his speech, he announced: “This ceremonial hammer of this G20 summit officially concludes this summit and now proceeds to the subsequent leader 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 gathering of the world’s largest economies. Summit Communique Highlights Climate Change and Equal Rights The G20 released a statement on Saturday emphasizing the need to address environmental crises and achieve “equal opportunities for all genders.” Donald Trump’s administration had pulled out of the Paris environmental accord on the initial day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle sexism, racism and homophobia. White House Response US administration representative Anna Kelly claimed the president of “refusing to facilitate a smooth transition of the G20 presidency.” “This, combined with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 summit statement, despite consistent and robust US objections, 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 proposed to organize for an similarly ranked official to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Officials had stated it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US interim envoy. South Africa’s top diplomat, 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-owned Doral Miami golf resort, which is under Trump corporate ownership. The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei did not attend, 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 full complexity.” The G20 communique stated: “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 global hostilities.” Group of Twenty History The G20 was established following the Asian financial crisis in 1999, with 19 nations and the European Union. The AU was added in 2023. The Russian leader 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 signatory. Xi has delegated attending many international gatherings this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.