Cyril Ramaphosa Concludes G20 Summit Following American Withdrawal and Handover Dispute
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the G20 summit in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, after rejecting a US proposal for him to transfer authority to a relatively junior embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida.
Event Overshadowed 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 repeatedly accused South Africa of discriminating against 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 periods of hardship, to strive for global improvement,” Ramaphosa stated in his final address.
Wrapping up his speech, he noted: “This gavel of this G20 summit officially concludes this summit and now moves on 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 nation absent from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.
G20 Declaration Highlights Climate Change and Gender Equality
The G20 issued a declaration 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 The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement on the initial day of his new mandate and has reversed many policies designed to tackle discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.
White House Response
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly claimed the president of “declining to enable a seamless handover of the G20 presidency.”
“This, coupled with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 leaders’ declaration, despite consistent and strong American opposition, highlights the reality that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she stated.
Transition Procedure Disagreement
South Africa had offered to arrange for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Authorities explained it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US interim envoy.
South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, told reporters: “From us, the ball has moved. We are done. The decision is theirs. If they want to come, we are available.”
Upcoming Gathering and Other Notable Non-Attendances
The 2026 summit is set to occur at the Trump-owned 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 diplomatic chief, 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 fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and wars around the globe.”
Group of Twenty History
The G20 was established following the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The African Union was incorporated last year.
The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico's leader Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. Putin is wanted by the international criminal court, to which South Africa is a signatory. The Chinese president has assigned participation in numerous global events this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.