By Johnathan Paoli
The G20 Leaders’ Summit will conclude on Sunday afternoon with South Africa unlikely to formally hand over the presidency to the United States, following Washington’s unprecedented decision to boycott the two-day gathering of leading and emerging economies.
The South African government said that because the United States sent a delegation lower than the head of state, Pretoria will also send a delegation lower than a head of state to hand over the G20 presidency gavel.
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola said that the government will not hand over the leaders’ declaration to a deputy ambassador at the summit venue, as this would violate protocol.
Instead, the document will be formally handed to the appropriate US representative at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in Pretoria.
“We will do it at Dirco offices, any time from Monday. Arrangements will be made on the appropriate date that they can come and we do the handover. As Dirco, we are prepared and this can not in any way strain relations, because we are doing it at an appropriate level,” Lamola said.
The diplomatic tension stems from the Trump administration’s decision to skip the summit entirely, citing disagreement with the agenda and repeating an unfounded allegation of “white genocide” in South Africa.
Despite the absence of the US, G20 leaders proceeded with their work and, in a break from long-standing tradition, adopted the Summit Declaration at the start of the meeting on Saturday rather than at its close.
The declaration went ahead without the US delegation’s input, raising fresh questions about Washington’s commitment to multilateral forums and the implications for global governance mechanisms.
Pretoria has maintained throughout the weekend that it cannot endorse a protocol breach by allowing President Cyril Ramaphosa to hand over the presidency to a mid-level US official.
Senior South African officials emphasised that the responsibility for the breakdown lies squarely with Washington, saying that diplomatic norms require reciprocal representation at the highest level when transitioning leadership of a major international body.
South Africa maintains that adhering to diplomatic protocol is essential to preserving the integrity of the G20 system, even as tensions with Washington colour the closing moments of its historic presidency, the first to be held on African soil.
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