JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa formally closed the first-ever G20 summit held on African soil on Sunday, November 23, 2025, marking the end of a landmark gathering that sought to highlight global cooperation despite the absence of the United States, which boycotted the event.
With a symbolic strike of the wooden gavel, Ramaphosa declared the summit adjourned, saying the meeting’s outcome represented a milestone in global diplomacy. The summit broke with convention by releasing a leaders’ declaration on its opening day, even as Washington objected to South Africa’s agenda that centered on climate change, inequality, and reforming global wealth distribution.
Ramaphosa said the declaration captured a spirit of renewed unity among the world’s leading economies.
“Recognising our interconnectedness as a global community of nations, we have called for an end to conflicts and wars around the globe and for a just and comprehensive and lasting peace,” he said.
In his closing address, Ramaphosa described the Johannesburg summit as a turning point for multilateralism, held at a time when global pressure was mounting for “progress on the imperatives of our time.”
He listed these as ending poverty in all its forms, reducing inequality within and among nations, and taking urgent action to combat climate change.
“The declaration shows that our shared goals outweigh our differences and stands as a commitment to concrete actions to improve the lives of people all over the world,” Ramaphosa added.
Concluding his remarks, the South African leader said:
“I now say that 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 see each other again next year. The summit is therefore closed.”
U.S. Boycott and Diplomatic Tensions
The closing ceremony was overshadowed by the U.S. boycott, ordered by President Donald Trump, who claimed—without evidence—that South Africa’s Black-majority government was persecuting its white Afrikaner minority.
Under normal circumstances, the wooden gavel symbolizing the rotating G20 presidency would have been handed over to the next host nation. However, the ceremony was canceled after Washington announced it would send only a low-level embassy representative, a decision Pretoria described as “an insult to President Ramaphosa.”
The United States is slated to assume the G20 presidency in 2026, with Trump’s administration saying it plans to host the summit at his Doral Golf Club in Florida.
Despite the diplomatic strain, many observers hailed the Johannesburg summit as a success, noting that it reinforced Africa’s growing influence in global governance and demonstrated the G20’s ability to function even amid divisions among its members.
