PM Modi Meets South African President, Focus on Stronger Ties at G20

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an important meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday during the G20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg. The discussion took place on the sidelines of the summit and focused on strengthening the partnership between the two nations.

Senior Indian officials, including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (Economic Relations) Sudhakar Dalela, were also present in the meeting. Both sides reviewed the current status of the bilateral relationship and explored new areas of cooperation, especially in security, people-to-people exchanges, and economic collaboration.

President Ramaphosa had warmly welcomed PM Modi on Saturday when he arrived to attend the G20 Summit at the Nasrec venue. This friendly gesture highlighted the strong ties shared by India and South Africa.

During the opening day of the summit, PM Modi addressed two sessions and stressed the importance of global cooperation, disaster resilience, and sustainable development. He said the world needs to work together to solve major challenges and ensure a balanced and inclusive future.

In a series of posts on social media, PM Modi explained that the second session of the summit focused on building a resilient world in the face of climate change, promoting just energy transitions, and strengthening global food systems. He highlighted India’s efforts to support these goals through its human-centric development approach.

PM Modi explained that India established the Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group during its G20 Presidency because global challenges need global solutions. He said disaster management should shift from a response-led model to a development-focused one, and mentioned the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure as proof of this commitment.

The Prime Minister also proposed a G20 Open Satellite Data Partnership, which would make satellite data from G20 space agencies more accessible to developing nations, especially in the Global South. He said this would help countries improve agriculture, fisheries, environmental planning, and disaster readiness.

Reaffirming India’s commitment to clean energy, PM Modi introduced the G20 Critical Minerals Circularity Initiative. This initiative aims to promote recycling, urban mining, second-life batteries, and other innovations to secure global mineral supply chains and support cleaner development.

The meeting between PM Modi and President Ramaphosa is expected to boost cooperation in new sectors, strengthen strategic ties, and create fresh opportunities for collaboration between India and South Africa.