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The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the G20 summit in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, after rejecting a American suggestion for him to transfer authority to a relatively junior embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida.

Summit Marred 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 consistently alleged 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 come together, even in periods of hardship, to strive for global improvement,” the president declared in his closing speech.

Concluding his remarks, 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 reconvene next year.” This was Ramaphosa’s sole reference of the country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

Summit Communique Focuses On Climate Change and Gender Equality

The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday stressing the importance to address environmental crises and achieve “gender equality.” Donald Trump’s administration had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the initial day of his new mandate and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle sexism, racism and homophobia.

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 effort to release a G20 leaders’ declaration, despite consistent and strong American opposition, underscores the fact that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she remarked.

Transition Procedure Disagreement

South Africa had proposed to organize for an similarly ranked official to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the diplomatic headquarters. Authorities explained it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to pass 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. The decision is theirs. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Future Summit and Additional Absences

The 2026 conference 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 refused to endorse the communique. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, commented: “In particular, it deals with the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that fails to capture its full complexity.”

The G20 document read: “We are committed for a fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution in Sudan and the DRC, the Palestinian territories, 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 nations and the European Union. The AU was added in 2023.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico's leader Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. The Russian president faces an arrest warrant 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.