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The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the G20 summit in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, following his refusal of a American suggestion for him to hand over duties to a lower-ranking embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida.

Summit Marred by US Boycott

South Africa presented the two-day event as a victory for global cooperation, 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 have gathered in the face of major obstacles and demonstrated our ability to come together, even in times of great difficulty, to pursue a better world,” Ramaphosa stated in his closing speech.

Wrapping up his speech, he noted: “This ceremonial hammer of this G20 summit officially concludes this summit and now moves on to the next president of the G20, which is the United States, where we shall reconvene next year.” It represented Ramaphosa’s only mention of the country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

G20 Declaration Highlights Climate Change and Gender Equality

The G20 released a statement on Saturday emphasizing the need to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” Donald Trump’s administration had pulled out of the Paris environmental accord on the initial day of his new mandate and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

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 summit statement, notwithstanding repeated and robust US objections, highlights the reality that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she remarked.

Transition Procedure Disagreement

South Africa had offered to arrange for an similarly ranked official to formally hand 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 top diplomat, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “From us, the ball has moved. Our role is complete. It’s up to them. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Future Summit and Other Notable Non-Attendances

The 2026 conference is set to occur at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort, which is under Trump corporate ownership.

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 fails to capture its entire intricacy.”

The G20 communique stated: “We are committed for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and global hostilities.”

G20 Background

The G20 was established following the Asian financial crisis in 1999, with 19 nations and the European Union. The AU was incorporated last year.

Russia’s 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 signatory. The Chinese president has assigned participation in numerous global events this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.