Transcript of Special briefing by MEA on Prime Minister's visit to South Africa (November 22, 2025)
India - Ministry of External Affairs
November 22, 2025
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I know it is a little late in the day or shall I say evening. But thank you for coming for this special briefing on Prime Minister's visit to South Africa, Johannesburg for the G20 summit.
We have with us Secretary Economic Relations who looks after G20 affairs in the Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Sudhakar Dalela for the special briefing. As also we are joined by High Commissioner of India to South Africa Shri Prabhat Kumar. We also have Shri Shambhu Hakki who is Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs who looks after G20 issues.
With that I would first like to invite a High Commissioner to take us through the developments that have happened at the bilateral side and thereafter I'll request Secretary (ER) to make his initial remarks. Can I call upon the High Commissioner. Sir, over to you.
Shri Prabhat Kumar, High Commissioner of India to South Africa: Thank you Randhir. It's always a pleasure to speak to you. But you can see our Additional Secretary XP who always takes the floor when he's in Delhi and Ministry of External Affairs, so we have the good luck and opportunity to have him here. So, welcome Randhir. Of course, you know Johannesburg very well. He was Consul General here sometime back.
And welcome Sudhakar our Secretary, Secretary for Africa, Secretary for many other things but also for G20, and BRICS. And Shambhu Hakki our Joint Secretary for Multilateral Relations. So, we have a good team here.
So let me start with what has happened in the last couple of days. You must have seen the warm welcome which was given to Prime Minister Modi when he came to Johannesburg. Of course the government ... as soon as he landed, he was welcomed by Minister in the Presidency and there was a ceremony there, and thereafter he came to Sandton Sun and a good gathering of people.
First, as soon as he entered the hotel there was some cultural program, dances, and also a song from the indentured community on Ganga Maiya which was really liked by the Prime Minister. Whenever Prime Minister comes to any part of the world, this was his fourth visit to South Africa, but whenever he comes to Johannesburg, the welcoming gets really really warm. So, thank you Johannesburg for that.
We had you know around 300 to 400 people, but more people wanted to come. But because of lack of space and security reasons we could only accommodate that much. So, we are sorry for others who couldn't join but they must have seen on TV our Prime Minister. Or perhaps there will be some other occasion when Prime Minister is here. So very enthusiastic welcome and the joy and happiness shown by people for Prime Minister ... was also very happy to be here.
We had yesterday, after this warm welcome, a few meetings. One was with the tech entrepreneurs of Indian origin who are here. So young tech entrepreneurs who explained to the Prime Minister the areas in which they are working, and how the technology that they are working on is helping people. So, that made our Prime Minister make some suggestions.
Then he had a meeting with some of the leaders of organizations of the Indian origin people. And that also went on very well, and that way he was able to connect with the community, otherwise the leadership. And he had a conversation with them.
Thereafter, we also had a meeting with Naspers. The Naspers CEO was here, and Naspers CEO of course talked about the investments that Naspers has made in India, and the investments it is going to make in the coming years. And Prime Minister had some suggestions on which areas they could look into. So that meeting also went up very well.
So, these were yesterday's activity. Of course, on G20 we have Secretary and the Joint Secretary who will perhaps give you information. Thank you very much.
Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): Thank you very much Randhir and good evening everyone.
As my colleague Randhir has mentioned Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participated today in the G20 Leaders' Summit hosted by the President of South Africa. This has been Prime Minister's 12th participation in G20 summits. As High Commissioner Prabhat mentioned, Prime Minister has been to South Africa earlier. He came in 2016 on a bilateral visit followed by 2018 and 2023 for attending the BRICS summits. This is the fourth visit.
But this G20 summit was special for many of us certainly for India because this was the first time G20 summit took place in Africa and it was also the fourth global South Presidency of G20 in succession. As you would recall Indonesia chaired the G20 Presidency in 2022 followed by India, Brazil, and then of course South Africa.
Prime Minister addressed both the sessions of the opening day of the summit today. He thanked Hon'ble President Ramaphosa for his warm hospitality and for a very successful organization of the summit. At the opening session on inclusive and sustainable economic growth leaving no one behind, Prime Minister appreciated the work done by the group under the South African Presidency in areas such as skilled migration, tourism, food security, artificial intelligence, digital economy, innovation and women empowerment.
Prime Minister recalled some of the historic decisions taken during the New Delhi G20 summit and that have been carried forward by the South African Presidency. Prime Minister emphasized that it was time to look at new parameters of development, one which addressed imbalance of growth and over exploitation of nature. In this context, Hon'ble Prime Minister noted that the idea of integral humanism based on India's civilizational wisdom must be explored which takes into account the holistic view of human society and nature, and that is how harmony between progress and planet could be achieved.
Elaborating India's approach to growth, development and well-being for all, Prime Minister proposed a few actionables for the G20 to consider. These included, number one, creation of a G20 global traditional knowledge repository. This would harness collective wisdom of humanity for the benefit of future generations.
Secondly, creation of a G20 Africa skills multiplier. This program would aim to create a pool of one million certified trainers for skilling the youth in Africa.
The third, creation of a G20 global health care response team which would comprise health care experts from each of the G20 members and could be deployed to deal with global health challenges in any part of the world.
The fourth, establishing a G20 open satellite data partnership, a program of satellite data in which G20 space agencies would make information available to developing countries for agriculture, fisheries, disaster management among other activities.
Fifth, he also talked about creation of a G20 critical minerals circularity initiative, an initiative which would foster recycling, urban mining, second life battery projects and innovation of various types and help in strengthening supply chain security and develop cleaner pathways of development.
And finally, Hon'ble Prime Minister mentioned about creation of a G20 initiative on countering the drug and terror nexus.
In the afternoon, Hon'ble Prime Minister addressed the session on a resilient world, G20 contribution to disaster risk reduction, climate change, just energy transition, food systems. He appreciated that a disaster risk reduction working group initiated by India during its presidency has been taken forward by the South African presidency. Prime Minister noted that the approach to disaster resilience should be development centric rather than response centric as exemplified by the coalition for disaster resilient infrastructure in India.
Prime Minister called for greater collective action on climate agenda to strengthen food security. In this context, he also noted the value of millets in promoting nutritional security and environmental sustainability. Prime Minister also recalled the Deccan principles on food security which were adopted during India's presidency, and he hoped that such an approach should become the basis for creating a G20 roadmap on food security. He also called upon developed countries to meet their climate action commitments on providing affordable finance and technology to developing countries in a time-bound manner.
Prime Minister of course sought greater voice for the global South in global governance structures. In this context, he recalled the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of G20 during India's presidency in New Delhi two years back which was a major step forward. And he felt that this inclusive spirit must continue beyond G20.
Now, coming to the outcome of the South African Presidency, I think all of you have been following reports coming out in media through various platform within the framework of the overarching theme of solidarity, equality and sustainability. The G20 this year has delivered a strong message on four key priorities that were identified by the South African Presidency, which included strengthening disaster resilience and response; taking action to ensure debt sustainability for low-income countries; harnessing critical minerals for sustainable economic growth; and mobilizing finance for just energy transition.
There was a focus on the issues and priorities of Africa which are reflected in the G20 South Africa Summit Leaders Declaration which was adopted by the members who were gathered at the summit today. I would like to also say before concluding that it is encouraging to see how the initiatives and outcomes that were shaped during our presidency have continued to evolve, gather momentum and translate into concrete progress across the G20; and taken forward by the South African friends during their presidency.
So, with these comments, I would like to perhaps stop here. I would like to only say that there is a third session tomorrow of the summit. Our Hon'ble Prime Minister proposes to make an intervention on the theme of the third session and there will be also on the margins a meeting of the India, Brazil, South Africa leaders tomorrow morning.
So, with these words, I think I would like to stop here, and I would be happy to take any question that you might have. Thank you very much.
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Before we open the floor for questions, let me fill you in with some of the bilateral engagements that the Prime Minister had.
On the first day of his arrival, the Prime Minister met with the Prime Minister of Australia. The two leaders discussed diversification and deepening of India-Australia relationship. As some of you would be aware, this is a relationship which was elevated to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2020. And in the last five years, this relationship has done exceedingly well and we have made significant progress.
Prime Minister Albanese, he conveyed deepest condolences on the latest terror attack in Delhi, and both leaders renewed their commitment to strengthen global fight against terrorism. The two leaders, they discussed as to how to take this relationship forward and in this context, they talked about strengthening political ties, strategic ties, defense and security issues, trade and investment ties, also collaboration in the fields of critical minerals, mobility, education, energy partnership and how to strengthen people-to-people linkages between the two countries. They also discussed issues of regional and global importance.
Prime Minister also had several pull-asides and we have even put out details about each of those meetings. Today on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, Prime Minister met with President of France, India-France relationship, of course very important, a force for global good.
He met the President of South Korea. This is the second meeting that he was having with the President of South Korea, again a country with which we have special strategic partnership.
He met the President of Brazil, President Lula, Prime Minister of UK, Sir Keith Starmer, the UN Secretary General, Prime Minister of Malaysia, the Prime Minister of Singapore, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, the Chancellor of Germany, Prime Minister of Vietnam, as also Director General of WTO and the Director General of WHO. In addition, Prime Minister also met with the President of Angola and also the President of Sierra Leone.
We have put out details of all these meetings, so I would refer you to them. With that, we open the floor for questions.
Amrit Pal Singh, DD India: My question is for Secretary (ER). This is Amrit Pal Singh from DD India. Sir, the Johannesburg Leaders' Declaration was adopted today. How far would you say that the outcomes of 2023 Delhi Summit were carried forward in Johannesburg?
Sudhi Ranjan Sen, Bloomberg: Thank you, Sir. Sudhi Ranjan from Bloomberg. Sir, I have got a couple of questions and clarifications to ask. Sir, to begin with, we have seen a little bit of rancor coming because of a position that had been taken by the United States. What is India's position on that?
Two, why is the IBSA Leaders' Summit being held now? I believe it is after 11 years. Is there a reason? Is the trade uncertainty one of them?
And finally, Sir, if you allow me, if you could give us some details on the trilateral that the Prime Minister had, what exactly was that trilateral achieving?
Kaya, SABC News: Hi, good evening. It is Kaya here from SABC News. This is for you, Secretary (ER). Sir, obviously this G20 Summit happens at a critical time with the geopolitical tension and tariffs and all that. So, do you think with the show of the leaders from the G20, is it really indicating that multilateralism is still safe in light of these developments?
And maybe just India's take with the US and South Africa. Trump is not here, a very key player in the global economy. Thank you.
Kalden Ongmu, WION News: Good evening. My name is Kalden Ongmu. I'm representing WION News. My question is for any one of you. South African government this evening announced that they will not be formally handing over the G20 Presidency to US tomorrow. It's very unprecedented. I want to get reaction from India. Thank you.
Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): Thank you very much for these questions. The first question was about how South African Presidency has carried forward some of the landmark initiatives that were conceived and launched by G20 members during our Presidency two years back.
As I mentioned to you, Hon'ble Prime Minister did recall some of these historic decisions taken during New Delhi Summit that have been taken forward first by Brazil and then by South Africa. To give you maybe a very quick glimpse, I can't sort of list out all of them, but certainly some of the major ones that come to my mind would be in terms of the finance track. They relate to the multilateral development banks, debt vulnerability issue, and thirdly, the financial inclusion in the context of digital public infrastructure.
Building on the G20 leaders' commitment in New Delhi to pursue reform for better, bigger, and more effective multilateral development banks, under the Brazilian Presidency, there was a roadmap prepared on this subject, and this year, during South African Presidency, a progress report to track the implementation of the roadmap has been welcomed by G20 members. So, there has been progress in the last two years on this track, which is very important for members of the Global South.
On the financial inclusion and productivity gains through usage of digital public infrastructure, DPI as we call it in India, there has been a financial inclusion action plan again, which has been taken forward again by the Brazilian Presidency and subsequently this year by South African Presidency. And South Africa's priority this year, moving from access to usage in the context of financial inclusion and deployment of DPI, also reinforces the whole sort of rubric of financial inclusion and productivity gains through digital public infrastructure and deployment of technology.
The third issue which I mentioned to you was about debt vulnerability. And there again, there was an announcement made during New Delhi Declaration, New Delhi Summit, about how do we address the debt vulnerabilities of low- and middle-income countries. It has been a priority for our Presidency, subsequently by the Brazilian side also. It was given a further push. And this year, I must in fact congratulate the South African Presidency for bringing G20 Ministerial Declaration on debt sustainability. So, I think this all reflects the importance attached by G20 members in addressing some of these issues, as I mentioned.
Beyond financial track, I would say, the Declaration commits to women-led development, ensuring women's full, equal and meaningful participation in all decision-making levels. This was something which was highlighted during our Presidency. Again, taken forward by both Brazilian and South African Presidencies.
There is also an endorsement of ambitious disaster risk reduction financing mechanism by the South African Presidency. And the Declaration also takes note of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure Initiative that was launched by India a few years back.
On the climate side, G20 leaders reiterated their pledge to triple renewable energy capacity globally and double the annual rate of energy efficiency improvements. This point was made by Hon'ble Prime Minister in his statement today in Session 1. The leaders' declaration also highlights India's initiative of lifestyle for sustainable development. We call it LIFE in India. So that also finds reference in the leaders' declaration today.
In addition to that, there is a recognition of the fact that the developing countries' climate needs requires scaling up climate finance from billions to trillions of dollars. This was flagged during our Presidency in terms of scaling up of climate finance. And we are very happy that this initiative and the need for highlighting this aspect has been carried forward by the South African Presidency in a very important manner. The leaders have also acknowledged and reaffirmed the comprehensive AI principles emphasizing human-centric, safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence development.
So, I would say all these things are very important part of the declaration that has been adopted by the members gathered today. And we are very happy that the South African Presidency has really, you know, sort of galvanized activity, engagement throughout their Presidency this year and which has resulted into concrete outcomes as reflected in the leaders' document.
My colleagues remind me that there is also a recognition of the role of evidence-based, traditional and complementary medicine validating India's holistic health care heritage. That also finds reflection in the leaders' declaration. So, all in all, I would say a very comprehensive document that has been adopted by the members today.
There is also in the declaration a clear-cut condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. So, we are very happy with that reference. That is very important from our perspective, and we are very happy that G20 collectively has condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. So, all in all, I would say very productive outcomes across four pillars, carrying forward the ideas of countries from global south, certainly from India. And I'm sure all of us will continue to work on these themes as we go in the next Presidency, G20. That is the first aspect.
The second question was about the U.S. position. I would not like to comment on U.S. participation or lack of participation. I would like to comment and focus only on India's participation and I have spent some time to detail out what our Hon'ble Prime Minister has highlighted today in his intervention today at the summit, and how some of the ideas which were important for us and which were taken up during New Delhi Summit have been sort of carried forward by the South African Presidency.
You mentioned about IBSA, India-Brazil-South Africa Trilateral Forum. This forum has been in existence for some time. The leaders are meeting after some gap, but IBSA leadership has been interacting. Only in September this year on the margins of UNGA, the foreign ministers of IBSA countries also met and they issued a statement also. And we have cooperative activities in the framework of IBSA. There is IBSA fund that has been set up by three countries through which we try to work together in third countries in global south undertaking projects relating to food security, nutrition and poverty alleviation.
We also have exercises in defense area among IBSA members. We have other initiatives which strengthen our people-to-people connection. So under IBSA auspices we have been working closely and we are very happy that South African President has decided to convene a meeting on the margins of G20 Summit tomorrow. And I would not like to prejudge the outcome of the meeting and I'm sure they would be discussing issues of importance to all three countries.
You asked about trilateral, India, Canada, Australia and I'll be requesting Randhir to perhaps respond to that question.
As regards participation of members, I would only say that we have been participating very actively in the G20 ministerial tracks, working groups and of course leading up to the summit. And we have tried our best to be as constructive, positive, support South African Presidency and to make sure that we have results that matter to Global South particularly, that matter to India, that matter to South Africa and we are very happy that we have a leader's declaration adopted today.
Final question about handing over. Again, this is a question that perhaps you should refer to South African Presidency. It is not for me to comment on that question. Randhir, do you want to answer?
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you. The Prime Ministers of India, Australia and Canada today met at the G20 venue. The three leaders, they have agreed to put in place a trilateral cooperation mechanism. This is Australia - Canada - India technology and innovation partnership.
What is important is that here are three countries which are democracies and located in three different continents coming together to foster trilateral collaboration in the fields of emerging technologies, the field of AI, for fostering diversification of supply chains, for clean energy partnership, and several other such areas of collaboration and cooperation which today govern our lives in the 21st century.
The three leaders, they have also tasked their teams that they must meet in the first quarter of 2026 so as to give shape to the vision that they have put in place. So sooner our teams will decide as to how we are going to take this collaborative effort forward. And, we see this as a very important progress in our ties with Australia and in our ties with Canada and together the three countries now will pull in their respective capabilities and resources, and see how best we can not only just address issues on technology, on energy, on supply chain just for themselves but what can be made available for others as well.
So, we have put out a detailed joint statement, a common joint statement which has been adopted by the three countries. So, that will give you more details of this very important collaboration that has been set in motion in Johannesburg. Thank you.
Unidentified Speaker: Yes, [Inaudible] from Independent Media. I just want to find out from the panel how the Prime Minister feels about the issue of the rights of Africa in terms of their critical mines and how the critical mines do not benefit Africa. How can Africa leverage the support of the G20 in order to realize the full potential of the economic participation?
Akhilesh Suman, DD News: Sir main Akhilesh Suman hoon DD News se. Debt restructuring ek bada problem raha hai aur humne dekha hai ki hamare pados mein Sri Lanka mein khas tor pe debt was a big problem. So aise mei G20 mein jo discussion hue debt ke bare mein sustainable debt ke bare mei aur real recommendation kya raha hai iske bare mei?
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, I am Akhilesh Suman from DD News. Debt restructuring has been a major problem, and we have seen that in our neighbourhood—particularly in Sri Lanka—debt became a very serious issue. In this context, what discussions took place in the G20 regarding debt, sustainable debt, and what were the concrete recommendations on this matter?
Tando Myako, The Business Day: Good evening. My name is Tando Myako from The Business Day. This is for the Secretary. My question is, considering that there is obviously an absence and you don't want to comment on the absence of one member of the G20 in this summit. Just how then do members future-proof the declaration from this summit but other declarations as well from 2024, from New Delhi in 2023 as now the G20 presidency moves back into the global north?
Lomas, IANS: Sir, main Lomas hoon IANS se. PM Modi ne pehle session mei char proposal rakhe the kya usko lekar ke South Africa ya anya deshon se koi pratikriya mili?
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi]: Sir, this is Lomas from INS. Regarding the four proposals presented by Prime Minister Modi in the first session, has there been any response from South Africa or any other countries?
Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): Thank you very much for these questions. On the issue of critical minerals and how one should harness these resources in a manner which is sustainable, which respects nature, which leads to sustainable growth.
As I mentioned to you earlier, Hon'ble Prime Minister in his intervention in the second session today did sort of articulate a very clear-cut sort of proposal of setting up or thinking about an initiative on critical mineral circularity. And the whole idea is that how do we foster recycling, how do we harness resources in a sustainable manner, how do we do urban mining, and how do we sort of involve and use innovation in this sector. And how these activities can then help strengthen supply chain security and develop clear pathways of development. So, I would refer to that, the actionable that has been mentioned by Hon'ble Prime Minister for consideration of G20 members.
There was also a question about four set of proposals that we have outlined, or our Prime Minister has outlined today. In fact, six proposals he has made in total two sessions, and I have listed these initiatives to all of you.
We would not sort of expect immediate sort of reaction. These are just made today in the sessions. But we would like to engage with G20 members going forward. And I'm sure G20 members would also be reflecting on what our Prime Minister has outlined. These are very important initiatives, very pertinent initiatives on the theme of South African presidency. And as we go toward the next presidency, we would like to, as I said, engage more with G20 members and see how we can take this forward with the support of other members.
Aapne sawal pucha debt ke bare mei. Jaise maine bataya ki yeh bahut hi mahatvpurn mudda hai jo hamare low income aur medium income ki jo hamare desh hai aur iska jo hai hamari New Delhi ki presidency mei is pe kafi focus kiya tha hum logo ne is mudde ke bare mei. Isko hum kis tarah se tackle kare debt ka issue abhi kafi serious hai developing countries ke liye, Africa ke liye. Aur jaise maine bataya aapko ki financial track mei is mudde pe kafi vichar vimash hua aur iske baad mei iske bare mei pura ek G20 ministerial statement bhi hai kis tarah debt sustainability ke liye hum kya kam kar sakte hain. Aur isme hame chaiye ki hum iske level ko unsustainable na banaye aur dusra jo high cost of capital hai developing countries ke liye usko hum kaise manage kare. Main aapko yahi kahunga ki isko jo statement hai usko aap dhyan se padhe aur isme kafi vichar vimash karne ke baad mei is statement ko banaya gaya hai.
[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi] You asked a question about debt, and as I mentioned, this is a very important issue for our low-income and middle-income countries. During our New Delhi G20 Presidency, we placed considerable emphasis on this matter. The question before us has been how to address the debt challenges, which have become quite serious for developing countries and for Africa.
As I told you, there was extensive discussion on this issue in the Finance Track, and following those deliberations, a comprehensive G20 Ministerial Statement has been issued outlining the steps we can take toward debt sustainability. The key is to ensure that debt levels do not become unsustainable, and secondly, to find ways to manage the high cost of capital that developing countries currently face. I would urge you to read that statement carefully, as it has been drafted after detailed and thoughtful discussions on the subject.
Regarding the participation of members, as you asked, as I mentioned earlier, I can only speak about India's participation in G20 deliberations. We attach tremendous importance to this forum, G20 forum. And we would like to continue to engage very actively on all aspects of work that we do in this important grouping. Thank you.
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Just to add to those six proposals that the Prime Minister has made for the consideration of G20, all these proposals ring a louder bell here in Africa, because all those proposals are about the aspirations of people on this continent, and aspiration of the global South. And in fact, it goes beyond that and talks about well-being of the world at large. So, we look forward to taking these six proposals forward along with G20 countries.
Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): And maybe just to chip in, Randhir, on this matter, I think, as my colleague Randhir mentioned, these are very important initiatives that our Prime Minister has outlined. And one particular initiative that our Prime Minister laid out in the first session was about G20 Africa skills multiplier.
Africa has a large population base. Africa has a large youth population. And if we have to have a steady economic growth, rapid economic growth, you need to have skilled manpower, skilled resources. And, it is in that context our Prime Minister has laid out this proposal which has tremendous value, I would say, should have interest in Africa. Thank you.
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: If there are no more questions, thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. And we look forward to our conversation tomorrow at the G20 venue. Thank you.
Shri Prabhat Kumar, High Commissioner of India to South Africa: Thank you very much. Thank you for coming at this late hour.
Johannesburg
November 22, 2025
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