PM MODI IN SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE G20 SUMMIT

Highlights Today — PETAL 034

Date: November 23, 2025
Theme: G20 • Global Governance • India’s Foreign Policy 🌍🤝🇮🇳

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Intro Whisper

“When nations gather, destinies shift.” ✨
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Johannesburg to attend the first-ever G20 Summit hosted on African soil, carrying India’s spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — One Earth, One Family, One Future. 🌏🕊️

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Why This Matters

• India’s leadership at the G20 continues to shape global conversations.
• South Africa’s presidency marks the fourth consecutive developing-country leadership, keeping the focus on the Global South.
• Crucial meetings: G20 Summit, IBSA Summit, and bilaterals with key partners including Japan’s new PM Sanae Takaichi.
• India’s “One Future” vision aims to ensure equity, solidarity, sustainability, and just global systems.

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Key Highlights

1. A Historic G20 in Africa 🌍

For the first time, the G20 Summit is hosted on the African continent, symbolising global recognition of Africa’s developmental priorities.
South Africa’s presidency continues the momentum built by:

• India (2023)
• Brazil (2024)
• South Africa (2025)

A rare trilogy of Global South leadership.

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2. India’s Vision: One Earth · One Family · One Future 🇮🇳🕊️

PM Modi reiterated that India’s engagement rests on:

• Universal harmony
• Collective prosperity
• Sustainable development
• Inclusive multilateralism

India will advocate for:

• Climate finance
• Debt sustainability
• Just energy transitions
• Global South food security
• Development of critical minerals
• Disaster resilience

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3. G20 Priorities Under South Africa 🇿🇦

Theme: “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability”

Summit priorities include:

• Disaster resilience
• Debt sustainability for poorer nations
• Mobilising climate finance
• Leveraging critical minerals responsibly
• Supporting Africa’s developmental aspirations

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4. Key Political Dynamics ⚖️🌐

• A potential US boycott raises concerns about the consensus-based G20 process.
• With the US assuming presidency in 2026, questions emerge:
  Can the G20 remain effective without American participation?
• Global tensions risk weakening multilateral outcomes.

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5. India’s Strategic Presence

India’s participation signals:

• Support for African development
• Commitment to global economic stability
• Advocacy for Global South in global governance
• Leadership continuity after successful summits in New Delhi & Rio

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Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty 🍚🤲

Launched in Rio (2024), its mission is to remove all nations from FAO’s hunger map by 2030.

Key facts:

• 148 members (82 countries + AU + EU + IFIs + NGOs)
• Supports SDGs through:
  • National policy coordination
  • Knowledge sharing
  • Financial mobilisation
• Ambitious targets:
  • 500 mn people under income-distribution programmes
  • School meals for 150 mn children
  • Billions in multilateral financing

India’s representation in this alliance was a major milestone.

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India, Hunger & Poverty Indicators (2024)

📌 GHI 2024 Rank: 105 out of 127
📌 Hunger: Serious category
📌 Global MPI 2024:

• 234 million Indians still multidimensionally poor
• Global total: 1.1 billion

Despite improvements, massive work remains in nutrition, health, sanitation, and education.

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GS Paper Mapping

• GS2: International Relations, Global Governance, Multilateral Diplomacy
• GS2: IBSA, G20, Global South, Foreign Policy
• GS3: Hunger, Poverty, Development, SDGs
• Prelims: G20, Global Hunger Index, Global MPI, FAO, SDGs

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Closing Thought — IAS Monk Whisper ✨

“Summits may last a day, but the decisions born there echo across generations.
When India speaks for the world’s poorest, diplomacy becomes a form of compassion.”

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High Quality Mains Essay For Practice : Essay-1

Word Limit 1000-1200

G20 South Africa 2025: India’s Diplomatic Vision in a Fragmented World

The G20 Summit held in Johannesburg in November 2025 marked a turning point in the geopolitics of global governance. For the first time, the G20 convened on African soil, signalling the rise of the Global South as a collective force in shaping international conversations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s participation carried both symbolic and strategic weight. As the cycle of developing-country presidencies—Indonesia, India, Brazil, and South Africa—came to an end, this summit stood as a bridge between two competing global realities: a rising multipolar world demanding equity, and the entrenched influence of traditional powers led by the United States.

India, now one of the world’s decisive diplomatic anchors, entered Johannesburg with a clear objective: to extend the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and consolidate its leadership of the Global South. Yet, the path was complicated by geopolitical headwinds—an impending US boycott, the absence of consensus on key declarations, and widening fractures over climate finance, energy transitions, and trade-based carbon barriers. In this context, understanding India’s role at G20 South Africa requires a deep examination of the institutional evolution of the G20, its strategic priority areas, and the transformation of global economic governance.

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G20: From Crisis Forum to Global Steering Committee

The G20 was born in 1999 after the Asian Financial Crisis exposed the inadequacy of the G7 to address globalized financial interdependence. Initially created as a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from major industrialized and emerging economies, it represented a recognition that economic stability required diverse voices.

The 2007–08 global financial crisis altered the trajectory of the G20. The grouping was “upgraded” to a summit of Heads of State in 2009, transforming it into the world’s premier platform for macroeconomic coordination. Over two decades, its agenda expanded dramatically—from banking regulations and trade reforms to climate change, digital governance, debt sustainability, food security, and global supply chain resilience.

Today, the G20 is far more than a forum for twenty economies. With the African Union’s entry in 2023, it now represents 55 additional countries, making it a broad and complex governance mechanism with deep political and economic implications.

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Why the 2025 South Africa Summit Matters

Hosting the first G20 Summit in Africa was not merely symbolic—it was a strategic necessity. Africa is home to one-sixth of the global population, the fastest-growing youth demographic, the world’s largest nickel, cobalt, and rare-earth reserves, and 30% of global critical minerals essential for clean energy transitions. By bringing the Summit to Africa, South Africa sought to recenter conversations on development, equity, and justice.

Its theme—“Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability”—deliberately carried forward the developmental thrust of the New Delhi and Rio de Janeiro Summits. The Johannesburg Summit emphasized four core priorities:

1. Strengthening disaster resilience and response systems
2. Ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries
3. Financing a just energy transition
4. Harnessing critical minerals equitably and sustainably

Each of these areas intersects directly with India’s diplomatic and developmental priorities.

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India’s Strategic Stakes at G20 South Africa

Prime Minister Modi arrived in Johannesburg with a twofold mission:
to uphold the continuity of Global South concerns, and to protect India’s economic future from emerging global norms that could disadvantage developing economies.

1. Climate Justice and Equity

A major battle line at COP and G20 platforms revolves around the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.” Developed nations are pushing for deeper commitments on fossil-fuel phaseouts, reporting obligations, and energy transition timelines. India and China, however, resist frameworks that implicitly punish developing countries for industrialization delays rooted in historical inequities.

India made clear that climate goals cannot be de-linked from finance, technology transfer, and policy autonomy. South Africa’s presidency, deeply aligned with India’s views, helped keep climate justice at the forefront.

2. Protecting Indian Trade from Climate-Linked Barriers

The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and similar emerging US carbon-tariff proposals threaten India’s exports in steel, cement, aluminum, and several other sectors. India’s position—shared strongly by South Africa, Brazil, and Indonesia—is that such unilateral measures are discriminatory and violate WTO principles.

G20 South Africa became an important arena for pushing back against these measures.

3. Food Security and Hunger Mitigation

The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty—established in Rio in 2024—was a key topic at the Johannesburg Summit. For India, this initiative is simultaneously:

• a platform to share its public distribution and digital welfare expertise,
• a stage to project moral leadership, and
• an opportunity to counter narratives around the Global Hunger Index, which India disputes.

4. Critical Minerals and Energy Security

As the world transitions from fossil fuels to renewable and battery-based systems, critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel will determine geopolitical influence. Africa houses nearly half of these reserves.

India’s engagement with Africa—particularly during this G20—was aimed at securing partnerships not only in extraction but in value addition, technology sharing, and supply chain diversification.

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A Divided World: The Challenge of Consensus

The G20 operates on consensus, meaning a single boycott can derail joint declarations. The 2025 Summit faced exactly this challenge: the United States signalled its intent to abstain from endorsing the final declaration over disagreements on trade, climate finance, and the geopolitics of the Middle East and Ukraine.

This raised two significant concerns:

1. Can the G20 function without US participation?
History—from Bretton Woods to IMF reforms—suggests global institutions struggle without US engagement.

2. Does this signal a coming fragmentation of global governance?
If Western powers and Global South blocs grow further apart, the G20 could split into competing alliances.

India’s emphasis on “One Earth, One Family, One Future” reflects a deeper diplomatic aspiration: to prevent this fragmentation and act as a bridge between competing worldviews.

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IBSA: Strengthening the South-South Fabric

On the sidelines of G20, the 6th IBSA Summit (India, Brazil, South Africa) elevated trilateral cooperation. IBSA represents:

• Three of the world’s largest democracies from the Global South
• Shared expertise in digital governance, agriculture, climate adaptation, and manufacturing
• Collective political influence to shape global narratives

This trilateral platform complements BRICS but retains a stronger emphasis on democratic values, multilateralism, and inclusive development.

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Looking Ahead: What Next for the G20?

As the US assumes the presidency in 2026, several questions loom:

• Will the Global South’s development agenda survive?
• Will climate justice remain central, or will the focus shift to geopolitics?
• Can the G20 avoid being overshadowed by rival blocs?

India’s task ahead will be to work with both democratic coalitions and developing blocs to ensure that economic governance remains inclusive.

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Conclusion

The 2025 G20 Summit in South Africa embodied the tensions and possibilities of a deeply divided world. Amid geopolitical shifts, trade disputes, and climate pressures, India positioned itself as a stabilizing force—advocating for inclusion, equity, and shared growth.

PM Narendra Modi’s message of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam was not merely rhetoric but a diplomatic strategy: a reminder that global challenges—from hunger to climate change—cannot be resolved through isolation, unilateralism, or zero-sum policies.

As the world awaits the next cycle of G20 presidencies, the Johannesburg Summit will be remembered as a moment when Africa and the Global South stepped confidently onto the centre stage—and India stood beside them, carrying forward the promise of “One Earth, One Family, One Future.”

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High Quality Mains Essay For Practice : Essay-2 Literary, Poetic

Word Limit 1000-1200

“When a Nation Walks Into a Summit, It Carries Its People With It.”

There are moments in geopolitics when a country does not merely attend a summit — it arrives. Johannesburg, November 2025, was one such moment for India. The Prime Minister’s steps on South African soil carried not just protocol but memory: ancient ties across the Indian Ocean, the weight of freedom struggles, and the quiet pulse of a rising people seeking their rightful place in the world.

Africa greeted the G20 for the first time. The winds over Johannesburg seemed to whisper an old truth — that history moves in circles, returning to the places it once ignored. And so, under a sky the colour of long journeys, the leaders of the world gathered, each nation bearing its contradictions, its wounds, its ambitions.

India’s voice at the summit did not ring out in arrogance, nor in apology. It carried something older: the calm conviction of a civilization that has seen empires rise and fall like waves on a forgotten coast. “One Earth, One Family, One Future” — the phrase could have been mistaken for poetry, but it was really a diagnosis of a world that has forgotten how to breathe together.

Johannesburg became a mirror. In it, the world saw two realities:
A planet fragmenting into power blocs, and a humanity aching to be united again.

The Prime Minister spoke of solidarity, of equality, of sustainability — words so overused that they often lose their fragrance. Yet placed in Africa, they bloomed again. For Africa carries the memory of lands taken, resources extracted, futures delayed. It knows better than any continent that peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of justice.

India’s presence beside Africa felt natural — two ancient civilizations bruised by history, yet unbroken in spirit. The G20, under South Africa’s hand, tilted the map slightly back toward fairness. Disaster resilience for the vulnerable. Debt justice for the desperate. Mineral wealth shared, not plundered. Transitions that empower, not erase. These were not technical proposals; they were corrections to a century of imbalance.

Yet beneath the deliberations flowed an invisible river of tension. A looming US boycott hung like a silent shadow. Without consensus, global declarations dissolve into dust. And so the question rose quietly, like a bird uncertain of its flight: Can the world find harmony without the West, or has the music of multilateralism grown too faint to hear?

Even so, India did not step back. It stepped forward — into dialogues, into trilateral meetings, into IBSA’s rekindled rhythm. The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, born in Rio, found India again offering its shoulders — the digital public infrastructure, the welfare scaffolding, the quiet competence of feeding millions daily.

Sometimes leadership is not loud. Sometimes it is simply a hand extended across continents.

The summit’s corridors spoke many languages — Zulu, Hindi, Portuguese, Mandarin — yet beneath them all ran the silent grammar of aspiration. Leaders walked past banners and cameras with the heavy knowledge that the planet is warming, nations are drifting, economies are trembling, and time is running.

But hope is not always bright. Sometimes it glows like a lantern carried by tired hands. Johannesburg was such a lantern.

For India, the summit was more than diplomacy. It was a reaffirmation that the path ahead is not just about negotiating agreements but about shaping futures. It was a reminder that leadership in the 21st century is not measured in dominance but in dignity — the dignity of the poorest child, the smallest nation, the most fragile ecosystem.

And so, when the Prime Minister spoke of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, it landed differently on African soil. The phrase that had circled the world returned to a continent that understands family not as biology but as shared struggle.

As the summit concluded, Johannesburg did not feel like an ending. It felt like the opening of a door — one that swings toward a future where the Global South is no longer an afterthought, but an axis.

India walked out of the G20 with its head high — not because it had won a negotiation, but because it had held fast to its oldest truth:
that in a divided world, the only path forward is together.

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