A possible deal that would have seen UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer accept and hand over the final declaration of the G20 to the US on behalf of South Africa, due to the absence of President Donald Trump, had to be abandoned at the last minute.

This came after South Africa and other G20 leaders rejected a last-minute attempt by the Trump administration to have the declaration, unanimously adopted at the first sitting of the summit yesterday, handed over to a junior US embassy official.

The Sunday Times understands that the US made an attempt to lobby the UK — which will chair the G20 summit in 2027 — to accept the declaration on its behalf, after the Trump administration’s attempts to send a junior official to the ceremonial handover taking place today at the Nasrec Expo Centre were widely rejected.

Several government and diplomatic insiders said it was instead suggested informally that the US and the UK swap roles, with the former only assuming the presidency of the G20 in 2027. But this did not find support and was not presented to the leaders at plenary.

The UK has been a major supporter of South Africa’s presidency of the G20, and some local officials had felt that a handover of the declaration to Starmer would have been smoother, as the UK is more aligned with the country’s agenda.

The first day of the gathering of the world’s most powerful and most industrialised economies kicked off in Johannesburg yesterday, attended by some of the world’s most influential leaders. Apart from Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, other notable attendees included:

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz;
• Italy’s Prime Minister Georgia Meloni;
• Chinese Premier Li Qiang;
• Brazil’s President Lula da Silva;
• new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi; and
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Their presence was seen as a show of force for President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Drama had been unfolding in the lead-up to the summit, following Trump’s public declaration that he would not be travelling to South Africa, a country he falsely accuses of persecuting white Afrikaners. He also barred senior White House and US government officials from attending.

[ G20 presidency handover to US will happen ‘any time from Monday’: LamolaOpens in new window ]

Last week, the US embassy sent a diplomatic note to Pretoria warning against making a G20 declaration without its presence. The note verbale stated that the US “opposes issuance of any G20 summit outcome document under the premise of a consensus G20 position, without US agreement”.

“If a deliverable is issued under your presidency, it will be framed solely as a Chair’s Statement to accurately reflect the absence of consensus.”

The US would then issue a second diplomatic note announcing it was sending its junior delegation to the G20 leaders’ summit handover. This was promptly rejected by South Africa and other G20 countries.

Insiders said European leaders were particularly angered by the behaviour of the US administration, which they view as not only undermining South Africa but the G20 as a whole.

“They feel disrespected. They say the US can’t dictate for others; it’s just a member of the G20 and not a leader of the organisation,” one highly placed insider said.

The absence of the US even affected the seating arrangements inside the plenary hall at Nasrec. Established tradition at the summit is for the troika leaders (the current chair and the next two chairs) to flank each other. With the US absent, Ramaphosa was understood to have been reluctant to sit next to an empty chair, and it was agreed that the African Union — accepted as a member in 2023 — would assume the US’s seat instead.

Senior South African government officials viewed the unanimous adoption of the declaration as a major success for the country and a blow to the US’s attempts to undermine Ramaphosa.

However, there were fears the Trump administration could try to end trade talks with South Africa in retaliation. But some officials said this was highly unlikely.

“What we fear right now is they might want to end trade negotiations,” said one. “But there are a lot of factors that contribute to maintaining the trade talks. The US needs critical minerals, and we have them in abundance. Also, you can’t have a superpower that doesn’t trade with the most industrialised nation in Africa.”

This is important not only for the people of Africa and the Global South; it is vital for global stability and security, alleviating resource pressures, managing population movements and reducing the risk of conflict.

—  President Cyril Ramaphosa

Officials said current tariffs of 30% on most goods from South Africa were not hurting as earlier feared, and local importers had mainly priced them in.

In his opening address to the summit, Ramaphosa said South Africa had, throughout its one-year presidency of the G20, sought to preserve the integrity and stature of the global forum of international economic co-operation, while championing the African agenda and that of the Global South.

“As a founding member of the G20, South Africa has sought to ensure the development priorities of the Global South and the African continent find expression firmly and permanently on the agenda of the G20,” he said.

“This is important not only for the people of Africa and the Global South; it is vital for global stability and security, alleviating resource pressures, managing population movements and reducing the risk of conflict.”

In the finalised declaration draft, the member states agreed that all states must “refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state”.

“States should develop friendly relations among nations, including by promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion. We condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We concur that, guided by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in its entirety, we will work for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and Ukraine, as well as ending other conflicts and wars around the globe. Only with peace will we achieve sustainability and prosperity,” the document reads.

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The countries also reached a consensus in recognising high levels of debt as an obstacle to inclusive growth in many developing economies, stating that this limits their ability to invest in infrastructure, disaster resilience, health care, education and other development needs.

“While the risk of a systemic debt crisis appears to be broadly contained, many vulnerable low- and middle-income countries face high financing costs, large external refinancing needs, and a significant outflow of private capital. These debt vulnerabilities, along with other factors, can constrain their fiscal space, their ability to address poverty and inequality, and their capacity to invest in growth and development. The situation is particularly challenging for many low-income countries, especially those in Africa.”

Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said a unanimous adoption of the summit declaration was a great win for multilateralism.

“It’s a sense that we had as we were edging closer to the summit that we were coming closer and closer to securing unanimity over the declaration. It’s a culmination of a year’s work by all the G20 countries. It’s a great win for multilateralism. It’s a great win for the world,” he said.

“Being a member of the G20 comes with a great deal of responsibility towards its own citizens, but also to the rest of the world. What we saw today with the early adoption of the declaration is that responsibility … leaders being aware that they need to give hope to the world.”

The UK’s high commissioner to South Africa, Antony Phillipson, said his country, as president of the G20 for 2027, will work with South Africa and the US through the G20 troika mechanism to ensure continuity of key items on the agenda going forward.

“There are two aspects to that,” he said. “First of all ... we will take on the presidency in 2027 and South Korea will then come after us in 2028. I think it’s probably a little premature to think about what our priorities will be in 2027, but... there are a number of themes that South Africa has pursued, whether it’s on the climate side, environmental sustainability, development, trade, education or employment.

“Those sorts of themes are absolutely essential to what the G20 is there to address, which are the big financial, economic and societal issues of the day. I would be surprised if those themes were not reflected in our priorities in 2027, as they have been as we have engaged with South Africa through this year.”