Final day of South Africa’s G20 Presidency

South Africa’s historic G20 Presidency concludes today, November 23, 2025, with the leaders’ summit ending and the gavel being handed over to an empty chair.

Leaders from the worlds’ leading economies, with the exception of the United States, have been convening at Nasrec in Johannesburg over the past two days.

In a historic first, leaders adopted a declaration addressing the climate crisis and other global challenges: an adoption usually saved for the end of the summit.

The declaration, which was drafted without input from the US, “can’t be renegotiated,” President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson told reporters on 22 November.

“We had the entire year of working towards this adoption and the past week has been quite intense,” spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said.

The declaration, which the US was warning nations not to adopt, reflects increasing strains between Pretoria and US President Donald Trump’s administration, which boycotted the event.

Ramaphosa had said there was “overwhelming consensus” for adopting the declaration.

But according to South African officials, Argentina, led by President Javier Milei, a close Trump ally, pulled out of negotiations at the last moment, just before envoys were set to approve the draft.

“Argentina, although it cannot endorse the declaration … remains fully committed to the spirit of cooperation that has defined the G20 since its conception,” said Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno.

Ramaphosa acknowledged this but proceeded with adoption regardless.

Commenting on Argentina’s absence from the final envoy meeting to agree on the text, Magwenya said said that Argentina had been participating meaningfully in all the deliberations.

Then, the country never showed up to endorse the declaration on Friday. “We have what we call sufficient consensus.”

An unhappy United States

The White House said Ramaphosa was “refusing to facilitate a smooth transition of the G20 presidency” after initially saying he would pass the gavel to ‘an empty chair.'”

“This, coupled with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 Leaders Declaration, despite consistent and robust US objections, underscores the fact that they have weaponised their G20 presidency to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Reuters.

Trumps has rejected the host nation’s agenda, which aims to promote solidarity and assist developing countries in adapting to weather disasters, transitioning to clean energy, and reducing their high debt costs.

US officials have consistantly said that it ‘goes against the agenda of the US.’ However, it never sent envoys to raise these concerns in deliberations throughout the year.

“This G20 is not about the US,” International Relations and Coperation minister Ronald Lamola told the SABC.

“We are all equal members of the G20. What it means is that we need to take a decision. Those of us who are here have decided this is where the world must go.”

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