JOHANNESBURG
The G20 summit in Johannesburg wrapped up on Sunday as South Africa handed over the rotating presidency to the US, which did not attend the meeting.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa formally closed the G20 summit, handing over the presidency to the US, “where we shall see each other again next year.”
He said South Africa used its G20 presidency to place the priorities of Africa and the Global South at the center of the agenda, building on the developmental focus of previous presidencies in Indonesia, India and Brazil.
Ramaphosa said South Africa is “truly honored and humbled” to host the G20, the first time the summit has been held on African soil, describing the occasion as significant not only for South Africans, but all Africans.
“Recognizing the importance of this milestone, we have sought to place Africa’s growth and development interests at the heart of the G20’s agenda,” he said, adding that “the greatest opportunity for prosperity in the 21st century lies in Africa.”
The South African leader said harnessing this opportunity would depend on strong partnerships between Africa and the G20, as well as with the wider world, and highlighted the interconnectedness of nations.
He said the summit declaration goes beyond words, committing to concrete actions that benefit people worldwide and demonstrating the forum’s value in facilitating joint action on issues of shared concern.
The leaders on Saturday pledged in the declaration to work for a “just, comprehensive and lasting” peace in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Palestinian territories, and Ukraine, condemning terrorism in “all its forms and manifestations.”
– US absence in leaders’ summit
The summit started Saturday without a US presence, despite the country being South Africa’s successor in the G20 presidency, which normally requires a handover ceremony.
Earlier this week, Ramaphosa said there could be a “change of mind” from the US side and that discussions were underway, a claim that was immediately denied by the White House.
South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola, addressing a news conference on the sidelines of the summit on Saturday, said the US wanted to implement the handover through the charge d’affaires of its embassy in South Africa.
He explained that the handover must happen at the head of state level, or at least a minister who “is properly designated by the president of the United States of America.”
“So now that they have assigned a charge, we’ve said DIRCO has equivalent officials of the charge, hence … we will do the handover… at DIRCO offices anytime from Monday,” he said.
Earlier this month, Trump announced that he would not send an American official to Johannesburg for the meeting, accusing South Africa of “human rights abuses” against the white Afrikaner population – claims the South African government has repeatedly rejected as unfounded.
Relations between Washington and Pretoria have plunged to their lowest over disagreements on both foreign and domestic policies.
