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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the G20 summit in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, following his refusal of a US proposal for him to transfer authority 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 triumph for multilateralism, 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 widely discredited.

“We’ve met in the face of major obstacles and shown our capacity to unite, even in periods of hardship, to pursue a better world,” Ramaphosa stated in his final address.

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 nation absent from the assembly of major global powers.

Summit Communique Focuses On Global Warming and Equal Rights

The G20 released a statement on Saturday stressing the importance to address environmental crises and achieve “gender equality.” The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the initial day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures aimed at combating sexism, racism and homophobia.

White House Response

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly claimed the president of “declining to enable a smooth transition of the G20 presidency.”

“This, combined with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 leaders’ declaration, despite consistent and strong American opposition, highlights the reality that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she stated.

Handover Protocol Disagreement

South Africa had proposed to organize for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Officials had stated it would breach protocol for Ramaphosa to pass it to the US acting ambassador.

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 Additional Absences

The 2026 summit is set to occur at the Trump-owned Doral Miami golf resort, which is owned by the Trump Organization.

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, also refused to endorse the communique. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, said: “Specifically it addresses the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that does not fully reflect its entire intricacy.”

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 resolving additional disputes and wars around the globe.”

Group of Twenty History

The G20 was established following the Asian financial crisis in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The African Union was added in 2023.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Chinese President 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 member state. The Chinese president has assigned participation in numerous global events this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.