Will Present India’s Perspective at G20 Summit: PM Modi
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who went on a three-day visit to South Africa to attend the G20 Summit in Johannesburg on Friday, said that he will present India’s perspective at the forum in line with the vision of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ and ‘One World, One Family and One Future’. A G20 Summit is being held for the first time on the African continent.
“We will attend the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. This is a particularly special Summit as it is being held in Africa. Various global issues will be discussed there. He will meet various world leaders during the Summit,” Modi shared on X.
On the margins of the summit, the prime minister is expected to hold bilateral talks with some leaders in Johannesburg. He will also attend the sixth IBSA Summit there.
In his departure statement, the Prime Minister said, “I will present India’s perspective at the Summit in line with our vision of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ and ‘One World, One Family and One Future’.”
He will visit South Africa from 21 to 23 November at the invitation of President Cyril Ramaphosa to attend the 20th G20 Leaders’ Summit during his South African Presidency.
Modi said in his statement, “This will be a particularly special Summit, considering that it will be the first G20 Summit to be held in Africa. The African Union became a member of the G20 during India’s G20 Presidency in 2023.” he said.
The summit will be an opportunity to discuss important global issues. He said the theme of this year’s G20 is ‘Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability’, thus taking forward the outcomes from previous Summits held in New Delhi, South Africa, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“I look forward to my interactions with leaders of partner countries and my participation in the 6th IBSA Summit scheduled on the sidelines of the Summit,” Modi said.
“During the visit, I also look forward to my interaction with the Indian diaspora in South Africa, one of the largest diasporas outside India,” he added.
Prime Minister Modi is expected to address all three sessions of the Summit, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday.
The summit’s three sessions cover “Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth Leaving No One Behind: Building our economies, the role of trade, financing development and the debt burden.”
The other two sessions are “A Resilient World – The Contribution of the G20: Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change, Equitable Energy Transitions, Food Systems”; and “A Fair and Just Future for All: Critical Minerals, Decent Work, Artificial Intelligence”.
A senior official of the MEA had on Thursday said that he did not want to prejudge what would be included in the leaders’ statement, but all important issues relevant from India and the Global South perspective “will be highlighted by our leadership”.
This will be the group’s fourth consecutive summit in the Global South.
Before South Africa, G20 presidencies were held by Brazil (2024), India (2023) and Indonesia (2022).
During the G20 Summit held in New Delhi in 2023, the African Union became a permanent member of the group of 20 largest economies in the world, with Prime Minister Modi announcing that he had joined the group.
According to the G20’s website, G20 members include the world’s major economies, representing 85 percent of global GDP, 75 percent of international trade and two-thirds of the world’s population.
It consists of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, England, USA, European Union and African Union.
