Cyril Ramaphosa Wraps Up G20 Summit Amid American Withdrawal and Handover Dispute
The leader of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded 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 American Absence
South Africa presented the two-day event as a triumph for multilateralism, but it was diminished by a boycott by the US, which has consistently alleged South Africa of showing bias toward white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been broadly refuted.
“We have gathered in the face of significant challenges and demonstrated our ability to unite, even in periods of hardship, to strive for global improvement,” Ramaphosa stated in his closing speech.
Concluding his remarks, he noted: “This ceremonial hammer of this G20 summit formally closes this summit and now moves on to the subsequent leader of the G20, which is the United States, where we shall reconvene next year.” It represented Ramaphosa’s sole reference of the country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.
Summit Communique Highlights 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 climate agreement on the initial day of his second term and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle sexism, racism and homophobia.
White House Response
US administration representative Anna Kelly claimed the president of “declining to enable a seamless handover of the G20 presidency.”
“This, coupled with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 leaders’ declaration, notwithstanding repeated and strong American opposition, highlights the reality that they have exploited their leadership role to weaken the group’s core values,” she stated.
Transition Procedure Controversy
South Africa had offered to arrange for an similarly ranked official to officially transfer 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, told reporters: “From us, the ball has moved. We are done. It’s up to them. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”
Future Summit and Other Notable Non-Attendances
The 2026 conference is set to occur 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 diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, commented: “In particular, it deals with the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that fails to capture its full complexity.”
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 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 AU was incorporated last year.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. Putin is wanted by the ICC, to which South Africa is a signatory. Xi has delegated attending many international gatherings this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.