Cyril Ramaphosa Wraps Up 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, after rejecting a US proposal for him to hand over duties to a lower-ranking embassy official for the next summit in Florida.
Summit Marred by US Boycott
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 showing bias toward white-minority Afrikaners—a claim that has been widely discredited.
“We’ve met in the face of significant challenges and demonstrated our ability to unite, even in periods of hardship, to pursue a better world,” Ramaphosa stated in his final address.
Concluding his remarks, he noted: “This ceremonial hammer of this G20 summit formally closes this summit and now proceeds to the subsequent leader of the G20, which is the United States, where we shall reconvene next year.” This was Ramaphosa’s only mention of the nation absent from the gathering of the world’s largest economies.
G20 Declaration Focuses On Climate Change and Equal Rights
The G20 released a statement on Saturday emphasizing the need to tackle climate change and achieve “gender equality.” Donald Trump’s administration had pulled out of the Paris environmental accord on the first day of his new mandate and has overturned numerous measures designed to tackle sexism, racism and homophobia.
US Administration Reaction
US administration representative Anna Kelly claimed the president of “refusing to facilitate a seamless handover of the G20 presidency.”
“This, coupled with South Africa’s effort to release a G20 leaders’ declaration, 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.
Handover Protocol Controversy
South Africa had offered to arrange for an equivalent “junior” diplomat to formally hand the G20 presidency to the US at the foreign ministry. Authorities explained it would violate procedure for Ramaphosa to give it to the US acting ambassador.
South Africa’s top diplomat, Ronald Lamola, informed the press: “We have done our part. We are done. It’s up to them. If they want to come, we are available.”
Future Summit and Additional Absences
The 2026 summit is set to occur at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort, which is under Trump corporate ownership.
Argentina, whose president Javier Milei skipped the summit, also refused to endorse the declaration. Its diplomatic chief, Pablo Quirno, commented: “In particular, it deals with the longstanding Middle East conflict in a manner that does not fully reflect its entire intricacy.”
The G20 communique stated: “We are committed for a fair, inclusive, and enduring resolution in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 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 added in 2023.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were also absent from the summit. The Russian president faces an arrest warrant by the international criminal court, to which South Africa is a signatory. Xi has delegated participation in numerous global events this year to China’s premier, Li Qiang.