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The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, following his refusal of a American suggestion for him to transfer authority to a lower-ranking embassy official for the next summit in Florida.

Event Overshadowed by American Absence

The host nation portrayed the 48-hour conference as a victory for global cooperation, but it was diminished by a withdrawal of the United States, 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 significant challenges and shown our capacity to come together, even in times of great difficulty, to strive for global improvement,” Ramaphosa stated in his closing speech.

Wrapping up his speech, he announced: “This gavel of this G20 summit formally closes 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.” This was Ramaphosa’s only mention of the nation absent from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

G20 Declaration 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 Donald Trump’s administration had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the initial day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

White House Response

US administration representative Anna Kelly accused Ramaphosa of “refusing to facilitate a seamless handover of the G20 presidency.”

“This, coupled with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 leaders’ declaration, notwithstanding repeated and robust US objections, underscores the fact that they have exploited their leadership role to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she stated.

Transition Procedure Controversy

South Africa had offered to arrange for an similarly ranked official to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the diplomatic headquarters. Officials had stated it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US acting ambassador.

South Africa’s top diplomat, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “We have done our part. We are done. The decision is theirs. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Upcoming Gathering and Other Notable Non-Attendances

The 2026 conference is scheduled to take place at the Trump National 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 communique. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, commented: “Specifically it addresses the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that fails to capture its full complexity.”

The G20 communique stated: “We are committed 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 economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 nations and the European Union. The AU was added in 2023.

The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also not present at the meeting. Putin is wanted by the international criminal court, to which South Africa is a signatory. The Chinese president has assigned attending many international gatherings this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.