🔗 Share this article

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded 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.

Summit Marred by US Boycott

The host nation portrayed the 48-hour conference as a victory for global cooperation, but it was overshadowed by a boycott by the US, which has consistently alleged South Africa of discriminating against white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been widely discredited.

“We’ve met in the face of major obstacles and demonstrated our ability to unite, even in times of great difficulty, to strive for global improvement,” Ramaphosa stated in his final address.

Wrapping up his speech, he noted: “This ceremonial hammer 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 reconvene next year.” It represented Ramaphosa’s only mention of the country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

Summit Communique Highlights Global Warming and Equal Rights

The G20 released a statement 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 Donald Trump’s administration had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the first day of his new mandate and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

US Administration Reaction

US administration representative 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, despite consistent and robust US objections, underscores the fact that they have exploited their leadership role to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she remarked.

Transition Procedure Controversy

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 violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US interim envoy.

South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “We have done our part. We are done. It’s up to them. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”

Future Summit and Other Notable Non-Attendances

The 2026 summit is set to occur at the Trump National Doral Miami golfing facility, which is under Trump corporate ownership.

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei did not attend, also refused to endorse the declaration. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, commented: “In particular, it deals with the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that fails to capture its entire intricacy.”

The G20 document read: “We are committed for a fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution in Sudan and the DRC, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and wars around the globe.”

Group of Twenty History

The G20 was founded in the wake of the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The AU was added in 2023.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. Putin is wanted by the ICC, to which South Africa is a signatory. Xi has delegated participation in numerous global events this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.