The G20 Leaders’ Summit will end this Sunday in Johannesburg, South Africa (SA), with no indication that Pretoria will formally hand over the bloc’s Presidency to the United States (US).

This follows the President Donald Trump administration’s decision to boycott the two-day gathering of major and emerging economies.

The US government withdrew from the summit ahead of the weekend, saying it disagreed with elements of the agenda and repeating an unfounded allegation of “white genocide” in SA as part of its justification for staying away.

Even with Washington absent, member states pressed ahead and endorsed the Summit Declaration at the very start of the meeting, an unusual move, as the declaration is traditionally adopted at the end. The document outlines commitments to address climate-related disasters, mounting sovereign debt, and broader global economic pressures.

SA has made it clear that President Cyril Ramaphosa will not hand over the G20 Presidency to a junior American representative, a position that has raised expectations of a break in protocol.

–ChannelAfrica–