The G20 Leaders' Summit concluded in Johannesburg, South Africa, marking the first such event on the African continent to end without the participation of a sitting U.S. president. Hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa, the meeting proceeded despite Washington's absence from the leaders’ sessions, issuing a joint declaration earlier than usual and delaying the traditional handover ceremony. South African officials hailed the outcome as a success for multilateralism.
The summit, held over the weekend in Johannesburg, was notable in several ways. As the inaugural G20 gathering on African soil, it drew heads of state and government from major economies, but President Donald Trump did not attend, according to NPR’s reporting on the meeting. Washington instead sent lower‑level representation.
NPR reports that Trump has repeatedly alleged that the South African government was taking land from white farmers and tolerating violence against white Afrikaners, and he has been sharply critical of the summit’s emphasis on themes such as diversity, equity and inclusion. South African officials have rejected those characterizations, and independent monitoring groups have said the former president’s claims about a broad campaign of land seizures and targeted killings are not supported by available data.
According to NPR, G20 members reached consensus unusually quickly, with a joint declaration agreed at the outset of the meeting rather than at its close. The communiqué highlighted threats posed by climate change, the importance of gender equality and the mounting debt burdens of developing nations — priorities that have often clashed with Trump’s policy positions. Diplomats said U.S. officials did not play a role in shaping the final text.
NPR further reports that Argentina’s President Javier Milei, a close political ally of Trump, opted not to attend the summit in person. Buenos Aires sent representatives instead; they expressed reservations about several passages of the declaration but ultimately did not block its adoption, according to officials present for the negotiations.
On Sunday, Ramaphosa brought formal proceedings to a close by striking a ceremonial gavel. "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," he said, as quoted by NPR. Because Trump did not travel to Johannesburg, there was no handover to a U.S. leader on stage. South African officials declined to pass the gavel to a junior U.S. embassy representative, citing protocol, and said a procedural handover between counterparts of equivalent rank would instead take place on Monday.
Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola described the summit as "a great success for our country," emphasizing that South Africa had helped steer discussions toward the concerns of lower‑ and middle‑income countries. Ramaphosa told reporters that the meeting had placed "the Global South at the heart of the agenda" and pushed issues facing developing economies higher up the G20’s list of priorities.
French President Emmanuel Macron publicly thanked Ramaphosa at the close of the summit and acknowledged that significant differences remained among members on several fronts, NPR reports. Officials said sideline conversations among European and Latin American leaders touched on a range of external conflicts, including anxiety in European capitals over elements of a proposed U.S. peace plan for Ukraine and Brazilian unease about U.S. military activities near Venezuela.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly criticized aspects of the proceedings, accusing Ramaphosa of complicating the transition to U.S. chairmanship and pledging that Washington would work to reinforce the group’s credibility when it hosts the G20 summit in Florida next year, according to NPR.