Prime Minister Narendra Modi utilised the Group of 20 (G20) Summit platform in Johannesburg to pitch a comprehensive new vision for global cooperation, one centred on inclusive progress and India’s civilisational ethos. In a broad-ranging address, Modi not only urged for a collective global effort to dismantle the dangerous drug-terror nexus but also pushed for a fundamental overhaul in how economic success is measured, arguing that current parameters have deprived large sections of the population and led to the over-exploitation of nature.
The successful inclusion of the African Union as a permanent G20 member, a move in which Modi was instrumental, provided the backdrop for the Prime Minister’s emphasis on the continent's suffering due to skewed growth priorities. He proposed the concept of ‘integral humanism,’ an idea associated with the governing BJP’s ideology, as a path forward, requiring the integrated consideration of the individual, society, and nature to achieve true harmony between progress and the planet.
Reimagining development and global threats
To secure global welfare, Modi tabled several major proposals. These included the creation of a global traditional knowledge repository built upon Indian knowledge systems, intended to preserve the collective wisdom of humanity. He also called for the formation of a global healthcare response team composed of G20 experts for swift action in health emergencies and natural disasters. Crucially, Modi announced the ambitious ‘G20-Africa Skills Multiplier Initiative.’ This programme, operating on a ‘train-the-trainers’ model, aims to prepare one million certified trainers across Africa over the next decade, significantly strengthening local capacity and contributing to the continent's long-term development.
Turning to security, Modi singled out the rapid spread of highly lethal substances like fentanyl, labelling the drug-terror nexus as a severe challenge to public health, stability, and a major source of terror financing. He insisted that a coordinated G20 initiative, bringing together instruments of finance, governance, and security, was essential to effectively weakening this economy. Separately, he also sought a global compact on Artificial Intelligence, stressing that systems impacting public trust must be responsible and auditable, with effective human oversight and strict restrictions on their use in deepfakes, crime, and terror activities. He invited all G20 nations to an AI Impact Summit to be hosted by India next year.
Diplomacy and institutional reform
Beyond the summit’s main agenda, Modi announced a significant new trilateral cooperation: the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation (ACITI) Partnership, following a meeting with his Canadian and Australian counterparts, Mark Carney and Anthony Albanese. This alliance is set to deepen collaboration across three continents in emerging technologies, clean energy, supply chain diversification, and the mass adoption of AI.
At the IBSA Leaders’ Meeting, attended by South Africa and Brazil, Modi stressed that reform of the United Nations Security Council was now not an option but an imperative, noting that global institutions no longer reflect 21st-century realities. He said that there to be ‘no room for double standards’ in the fight against terrorism, proposing an institutionalised NSA-level meeting to strengthen security cooperation.
The resulting G20 declaration saw participating countries reaffirming commitment to the UN Charter and issuing a single-line condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The summit concluded with the notable absence of the United States delegation, whose President, Donald Trump, boycotted the two-day talks and the ceremonial handover of the G20 presidency. The Trump administration stated that its refusal to attend was based on claims that South Africa was violently persecuting its white Afrikaner minority, assertions which the South African government repeatedly and emphatically rejected as 'baseless' and 'politically motivated'. This diplomatic rift escalated when South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa refused to perform the traditional handover of the gavel to the junior US diplomatic official sent in place of a senior representative, citing a breach of protocol.