🔗 Share this article Cyril Ramaphosa Wraps Up G20 Summit Amid American Withdrawal and Handover Dispute South African President Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the Group of Twenty meeting in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, following his refusal of a US proposal for him to hand over duties to a relatively junior embassy official for the next summit in Florida. Event Overshadowed by American Absence The host nation portrayed the two-day event as a triumph for multilateralism, but it was overshadowed by a boycott by the US, which has consistently alleged South Africa of discriminating against white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been broadly refuted. “We’ve met in the face of major obstacles and shown our capacity to unite, even in times of great difficulty, to strive for global improvement,” the president declared in his closing speech. Wrapping up his speech, he noted: “This gavel 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 sole reference of the country missing from the gathering of the world’s largest economies. G20 Declaration Focuses On Global Warming and Gender Equality The G20 released a statement on Saturday emphasizing the need to address environmental crises and achieve “equal opportunities for all genders.” Donald Trump’s administration had withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement on the first day of his new mandate and has overturned numerous measures aimed at combating discrimination based on gender,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. US Administration Reaction US administration representative Anna Kelly accused Ramaphosa of “refusing to facilitate a seamless handover of the G20 presidency.” “This, combined with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 summit statement, despite consistent and robust US objections, underscores the fact that they have exploited their leadership role to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she stated. Transition Procedure Disagreement South Africa had proposed to organize for an similarly ranked official to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Officials had stated it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US interim envoy. South Africa’s top diplomat, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “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 conference is set to occur at the Trump-owned Doral Miami golfing facility, which is owned by the Trump Organization. The nation of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei skipped the summit, also declined to support the communique. Its foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, commented: “Specifically it addresses the protracted Middle Eastern dispute in a manner that fails to capture its full complexity.” The G20 communique stated: “We will work 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 established following the Asian economic turmoil in 1999, with 19 countries plus the EU. The AU was added in 2023. Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also not present at the meeting. The Russian president faces an arrest warrant by the ICC, to which South Africa is a signatory. The Chinese president has assigned participation in numerous global events this year to China’s prime minister, Li Qiang.