🔗 Share this article Cyril Ramaphosa Concludes G20 Summit Following US Boycott and Handover Dispute South African President Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, following his refusal of a US proposal for him to transfer authority to a relatively junior embassy official for the next summit in Florida. Summit Marred by US Boycott South Africa presented the 48-hour conference as a triumph for multilateralism, but it was overshadowed 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 major obstacles and shown our capacity to unite, even in periods of hardship, to strive for global improvement,” Ramaphosa stated in his closing speech. Wrapping up his speech, he noted: “This gavel of this G20 summit officially concludes this summit and now moves on 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 country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies. Summit Communique Focuses On Global Warming and Gender Equality The G20 released a statement on Saturday emphasizing the need to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” The Trump government had pulled out of the Paris climate agreement on the first day of his new mandate 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 “refusing to facilitate a seamless handover 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 exploited their leadership role to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she stated. Handover Protocol Disagreement 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 interim envoy. South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, told reporters: “We have done our part. We are done. The decision is theirs. If they want to come, we are available.” Upcoming Gathering and Other Notable Non-Attendances The 2026 summit is scheduled to take place at the Trump National Doral Miami golfing facility, which is under Trump corporate ownership. The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei did not attend, also refused to endorse the declaration. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, said: “In particular, it deals with the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that fails to capture its entire intricacy.” The G20 document read: “We are committed for a fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution in Sudan and the DRC, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, as well as resolving additional disputes and global hostilities.” G20 Background The G20 was established following the Asian financial crisis in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The African Union was incorporated last year. Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also not present at the meeting. Putin is wanted by the ICC, to which South Africa is a signatory. The Chinese president has assigned attending many international gatherings this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.