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The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the G20 summit in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, after rejecting a US proposal for him to hand over duties to a lower-ranking embassy official for the next summit in Florida.

Event Overshadowed by American Absence

The host nation portrayed the two-day event 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 widely discredited.

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

Wrapping up his speech, he noted: “This gavel of this G20 summit officially concludes this summit and now moves on to the next president of the G20, which is the United States, where we shall see each other again next year.” It represented Ramaphosa’s only mention of the nation absent from the assembly of major global powers.

G20 Declaration Focuses On Climate Change and Gender Equality

The G20 released a statement on Saturday stressing the importance to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” Donald Trump’s administration had pulled out of the Paris climate agreement on the initial day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures aimed at combating discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.

White House Response

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

“This, combined with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 leaders’ declaration, notwithstanding repeated and strong American opposition, underscores the fact that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she remarked.

Handover Protocol 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. Officials had stated it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US interim envoy.

South Africa’s top diplomat, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “We have done our part. Our role is complete. The decision is theirs. If they want to come, we are available.”

Upcoming Gathering and Additional Absences

The 2026 conference is set to occur at the Trump-owned Doral Miami golfing facility, which is owned by the Trump Organization.

The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei did not attend, also refused to endorse the declaration. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, said: “In particular, it deals with the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that does not fully reflect its full complexity.”

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 resolving additional disputes 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 African Union was incorporated last year.

The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. The Russian president faces an arrest warrant by the international criminal court, to which South Africa is a member state. Xi has delegated participation in numerous global events this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.