November 24, 2025
He positioned Africa’s development needs at the centre of his address, noting the continent has borne the brunt of past models
He outlined India’s proposals on traditional knowledge, skills, healthcare, satellite data sharing, and mineral circularity
A new Australia Canada India Technology and Innovation Partnership was announced after a trilateral meeting
The summit experienced a notable absence, as the United States withheld its leadership presence due to tensions with South Africa
Addressing the G20 summit in Johannesburg, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said global development norms need to be rethought and used his platform to promote the Bharatiya Janata Party’s political philosophy of integral humanism while outlining new proposals on traditional knowledge, healthcare, and skill development. The gathering adopted its declaration on the first day, urging stronger action against climate change.
During the summit, the Prime Minister held a series of bilateral engagements and announced a new Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation Partnership following a trilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. He described the initiative as a step to expand cooperation among democratic partners across three continents and three oceans in critical and emerging technologies, supply chain resilience, clean energy, and artificial intelligence.
On the margins, he met South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. He greeted Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warmly during the group photograph, marking their first interaction since Anwar Ibrahim unexpectedly cancelled a scheduled Kuala Lumpur visit for the ASEAN summits in October. He also had brief exchanges with leaders from the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Brazil, Angola, and Singapore.
This summit marks the first time the G20 has convened in an African country, though it was overshadowed by a boycott from the United States, which did not send a leader due to strained bilateral relations with South Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa said he would hand over the G20 Presidency to an empty chair, though a United States diplomat will attend the ceremony, and President Donald Trump intends to host the grouping in 2026.
At the opening session, the Prime Minister said past growth models have left large populations without adequate resources and have accelerated environmental degradation. He drew attention to Africa as the greatest casualty of this approach. He said the moment calls for a review of global development parameters as the continent hosts the summit for the first time.
He said the philosophy of integral humanism offers one route for the future. Originally articulated by Jana Sangh leader Deen Dayal Upadhyay in 1965 and now adopted as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s basic philosophy, it is positioned as an alternative to Western ideological frameworks such as secularism, individualism, and communism, although it is not an official government doctrine.
Among his proposals, he called for establishing a Global Traditional Knowledge Repository within the G20 to pass sustainable and environmentally balanced practices to future generations. He said India is ready to train one million people across Africa through a G20 Africa Skills Multiplier Initiative and suggested forming a G20 Global Healthcare Response Team and a G20 initiative to counter the drug terror nexus. He highlighted the rise of lethal substances like fentanyl, saying the issue threatens public health, social stability, and global security while serving as a financing route for terrorism.
At the second session, he proposed a G20 Open Satellite Data Partnership to enable the sharing of agricultural, fisheries, and disaster-related data, as well as a G20 Critical Minerals Circularity initiative focused on recycling and improved mining techniques.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to attend the India-Brazil-South Africa summit on Sunday and will hold several bilateral engagements before returning to Delhi.
Source: The Hindu