South Africa's President Wraps Up G20 Summit Amid US Boycott and Transition Controversy
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa formally concluded the G20 summit in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, after rejecting a US proposal for him to transfer authority to a relatively junior embassy official for the upcoming gathering in Florida.
Summit Marred by US Boycott
The host nation portrayed 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,” the president declared in his closing speech.
Wrapping up his speech, he announced: “This ceremonial hammer of this G20 summit officially concludes this summit and now moves on to the next president of the G20, which is the United States, where we shall reconvene next year.” This was Ramaphosa’s sole reference of the nation absent from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.
G20 Declaration Focuses On Global Warming and Gender Equality
The G20 issued a declaration on Saturday stressing the importance to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” The Trump government had withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement on the initial day of his new mandate and has reversed many policies designed to tackle sexism, racism and homophobia.
US Administration Reaction
US administration representative Anna Kelly accused Ramaphosa of “declining to enable a seamless handover of the G20 presidency.”
“This, coupled with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 summit statement, despite consistent and strong American opposition, underscores the fact that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” she remarked.
Handover Protocol Disagreement
South Africa had offered to arrange for an similarly ranked official to officially transfer the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Authorities explained it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US interim envoy.
South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “We have done our part. Our role is complete. The decision is theirs. If they want to come, we are available.”
Future Summit and Additional Absences
The 2026 conference is scheduled to take place at the Trump-owned Doral Miami golf resort, which is owned by the Trump Organization.
Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, also declined to support 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 just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan and the DRC, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and wars around the globe.”
G20 Background
The G20 was established following the Asian financial crisis in 1999, with 19 nations and the European Union. The African Union was incorporated last year.
The Russian leader 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 attending many international gatherings this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.
