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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, after rejecting a American suggestion for him to transfer authority to a lower-ranking embassy official for the upcoming gathering 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’ve met in the face of significant challenges and shown our capacity to come together, even in periods of hardship, to strive for global improvement,” the president declared in his final address.

Wrapping up his speech, he announced: “This ceremonial hammer 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 sole reference of the nation absent from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

Summit Communique Highlights Climate Change and Equal Rights

The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday stressing the importance to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the first day of his new mandate and has overturned numerous measures aimed at combating discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

US Administration Reaction

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

“This, combined with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 summit statement, despite consistent and robust US objections, underscores the fact that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she remarked.

Handover Protocol Controversy

South Africa had offered to arrange for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the diplomatic headquarters. 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. It’s up to them. If they want to come, we are available.”

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.

Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, also declined to support the communique. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, said: “In particular, it deals with 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 just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan and the DRC, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and wars around the globe.”

G20 Background

The G20 was established following the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 nations and the European Union. The African Union was incorporated last year.

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