South African President Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the G20 summit in Johannesburg by banging a ceremonial hammer, following his refusal of a American suggestion for him to transfer authority to a relatively junior embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida.
The host nation portrayed 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’ve met in the face of major obstacles and demonstrated our ability 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 formally closes this summit and now moves on 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.
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 initial day of his new mandate and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.
US administration representative Anna Kelly claimed the president of “refusing to facilitate a seamless handover of the G20 presidency.”
“This, combined with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 leaders’ declaration, notwithstanding repeated and robust US objections, underscores the fact that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to weaken the group’s core values,” she stated.
South Africa had offered to arrange for an similarly ranked official to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the diplomatic headquarters. Officials had stated it would breach protocol 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. It’s up to them. Should they choose to engage, we are ready.”
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 foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, said: “Specifically it addresses the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that fails to capture its entire intricacy.”
The G20 document read: “We will work 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.”
The G20 was founded in the wake of the Asian financial crisis in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The AU was added in 2023.
Russia’s 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. The Chinese president has assigned participation in numerous global events this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.
Escritora y analista cultural con experiencia en medios internacionales, apasionada por explorar cómo las ideas locales impactan en el mundo.
