🔗 Share this article Cyril Ramaphosa Concludes G20 Summit Amid American Withdrawal and Handover Dispute The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, following his refusal of a American suggestion for him to hand over duties to a relatively junior embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida. Event Overshadowed by US Boycott The host nation portrayed the 48-hour conference as a triumph for multilateralism, but it was diminished by a withdrawal of the United States, 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 significant challenges and shown our capacity to unite, even in periods of hardship, to pursue a better world,” Ramaphosa stated in his closing speech. Concluding his remarks, he noted: “This ceremonial hammer of this G20 summit officially concludes this summit and now proceeds to the next president 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 Climate Change and Equal Rights The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday emphasizing the need to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris environmental accord on the initial day of his new mandate and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle discrimination based on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, coupled with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 summit statement, despite consistent and strong American opposition, underscores the fact that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she stated. Transition Procedure Controversy South Africa had proposed to organize for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Officials had stated it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to pass it to the US acting ambassador. South Africa’s top diplomat, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “We have done our part. Our role is complete. The decision is theirs. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.” Future Summit and Additional Absences The 2026 conference is scheduled to take place at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort, which is owned by the Trump Organization. Argentina, whose president Javier Milei did not attend, also declined to support the declaration. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, commented: “In particular, it deals with the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that does not fully reflect its full complexity.” The G20 communique stated: “We are committed for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and global hostilities.” Group of Twenty History The G20 was established following the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The AU was incorporated last year. The Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mexico's leader Claudia Sheinbaum were also not present at the meeting. Putin is wanted by the international criminal court, to which South Africa is a signatory. Xi has delegated attending many international gatherings this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.