Cyril Ramaphosa Concludes G20 Summit Following US Boycott and Transition Controversy
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, after rejecting a American suggestion for him to hand over duties to a relatively junior embassy official for the next summit in Florida.
Summit Marred by American Absence
The host nation portrayed the 48-hour conference as a victory for global cooperation, but it was diminished by a boycott by the US, which has repeatedly accused South Africa of showing bias toward white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been widely discredited.
“We have gathered in the face of significant challenges and shown our capacity to come together, even in times of great difficulty, to pursue a better world,” the president declared in his final address.
Concluding his remarks, 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 only mention of the nation absent from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.
G20 Declaration Focuses On Global Warming and Equal Rights
The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday emphasizing the need to address environmental crises and achieve “gender equality.” The Trump government had pulled out of the Paris environmental accord on the first day of his new mandate and has reversed many policies 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, combined with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 leaders’ declaration, notwithstanding repeated and robust US objections, highlights the reality that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she stated.
Handover Protocol Disagreement
South Africa had proposed to organize for an similarly ranked official to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Authorities explained it would breach protocol for Ramaphosa to give 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 summit is scheduled to take place at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort, which is owned by the Trump Organization.
The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei skipped the summit, also declined to support 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 entire intricacy.”
The G20 document read: “We are committed for a fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution 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 founded in the wake of the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The African Union was added in 2023.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s 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. The Chinese president has assigned participation in numerous global events this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.