World leaders from the Group of 20 rich and developing economies broke with tradition and adopted a declaration at the start of their summit in South Africa on Saturday despite opposition from the United States, which is boycotting the two-day talks in a diplomatic rift with the host country.
Vincent Magwenya, the spokesperson for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, said a leaders' declaration was adopted unanimously by the other members at the start of the talks in Johannesburg. Declarations are usually adopted at the end of G20 summits.
There were no details of what was in the declaration. Still, South Africa promoted it as a victory for the first G20 summit to be held in Africa and its aim to put problems, especially affecting poor countries, at the top of the agenda.
The summit has been overshadowed by the U.S. boycott ordered by President Trump, and the U.S. had put pressure on South Africa not to adopt a leaders' declaration in the absence of an American delegation, South African officials said.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the opening session of the G20 leaders' summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.
Misper Apawu / AP
South Africa's summit has an ambitious agenda to make progress on solving some of the long-standing problems that have afflicted the developing world, and leaders and top government officials came together at an exhibition center near the township of Soweto, which was once home to Nelson Mandela.
Many of South Africa's priorities, especially a focus on climate change and confronting global inequality, have met resistance from the U.S. But as he opened the summit, Ramaphosa said that "consensus has emerged."
Then, in comments to leaders that were apparently mistakenly broadcast during what was meant to be the start of closed-door discussions, Ramaphosa could be heard saying leaders would move "to adopt our declaration now."
South Africa's foreign minister walked over and whispered in Ramaphosa's ear, and the South African leader said: "OK. I'm told that the cameras are still on. They should be off."
While Ramaphosa's spokesperson said the declaration was unanimous, Argentina said it did not endorse it. Argentine President Javier Milei also did not attend the summit in solidarity with ally Mr. Trump, and the country was represented by Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno.
An ambitious agenda
South Africa, which gets to set the agenda as the country holding the rotating G20 presidency, wants leaders to agree to more help for poor countries to recover from climate-related disasters, reduce their foreign debt burdens, transition to green energy sources and harness their own critical mineral wealth — all in an attempt to counter widening global inequality.
"We'll see," United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on whether the G20 could prioritize developing world countries and make meaningful reforms. "But I think South Africa has done its part in putting those things clearly upon the table."
The summit will take place without the world's biggest economy after Mr. Trump boycotted over his claims that South Africa is pursuing racist anti-white policies and persecuting its Afrikaner white minority. The Trump administration has also made clear its opposition to South Africa's G20 agenda that focuses on climate change and inequality.
Moving on from the U.S. boycott
The months-long diplomatic rift between the U.S. and South Africa deepened in the buildup to the summit this weekend, but while Mr. Trump's boycott threatened to undercut the agenda, some of the leaders were eager to move on.
"I do regret it," French President Emmanuel Macron said of Mr. Trump's absence, "but it should not block us. Our duty is to be present, engage and work all together because we have so many challenges."
The G20 is actually a group of 21 members that comprises 19 nations, the European Union and the African Union.
The bloc was formed in 1999 as a bridge between rich and poor nations to confront global financial crises. While it often operates in the shadow of the Group of Seven richest democracies, G20 members together represent around 85% of the world's economy, 75% of international trade and more than half the global population.
But it works on consensus rather than any binding resolutions, and that is often hard to come by with the different interests of members like the U.S., Russia, China, India, Japan, the Western European nations France, Germany and the U.K., and others like Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
G20 summits traditionally end with a leaders' declaration, which details any broad agreement reached by the members. South Africa said the U.S. was exerting pressure on it to tone down the final document to a unilateral statement from the host country.
Ramaphosa responded to that earlier this week by saying, "we will not be bullied."
Even so, the direction of the G20 bloc is likely to change sharply given that the U.S. takes over the rotating presidency from South Africa at the end of this summit.
The only role the U.S. will play at this summit, the White House said, will be when a representative from the United States Embassy in South Africa attends the formal handover ceremony.
South Africa said it's an insult for Ramaphosa to hand over to a junior diplomatic official.
"We have communicated to the American government that the president will not be handing over to a junior official of the embassy," South African Foreign Ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri told The Associated Press, adding he didn't expect there would be a handover ceremony on Sunday.
