Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 23, attended the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) leaders’ meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. He joined Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa for discussions on trilateral cooperation and to discuss the roadmap for the prosperity and progress of the Global South in an increasingly contentious and unpredictable geopoliical order.
PM Modi emphasised that IBSA is not just a group of three countries but an important platform connecting three continents, three major democratic nations and three major economies. Furthermore, he called on IBSA to send a strong message to reform the institutions of global governance, in particular the UN Security Council. He asserted that the reform of the UNSC is now not an option, but an imperative.
PM Modi also noted that “there should be no room for double standards while fighting terrorism” and urged for close participation from the other nations in the fight against terrorism. Earlier in the day, while adopting the G20 Leaders’ Joint Declaration, the member-states of the G20 club, strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, thus rendering a diplomatic mileage in India’s relentless fight against terrorism.
“Highlighting technology’s crucial role in ensuring human-centric development, Prime Minister proposed establishing an ‘IBSA Digital Innovation Alliance’ to facilitate sharing of Digital Public Infrastructure like UPI, health platforms like CoWIN, cybersecurity frameworks and women-led tech initiatives among the three countries”, MEA added in the statement.
During the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, President Lula of Brazil, President Ramaphosa of South Africa and I held a leaders' meeting of IBSA, a forum which reflects our enduring commitment to strengthening the voice and aspirations of the Global South. IBSA is no ordinary grouping.… pic.twitter.com/s2oKfEEYXN
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 23, 2025
The meeting took place as Modi continued his packed diplomatic schedule at the G20, marking his second day of engagements with world leaders. Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister held a bilateral meeting with President Ramaphosa, described by officials as warm and productive. Modi congratulated South Africa for its successful G20 presidency, acknowledging Ramaphosa’s leadership in steering consensus on key global issues.
According to MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, the two leaders discussed strengthening cooperation in trade, investment, mining, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, Digital Public Infrastructure, skill development and food security. They also explored the possibility of launching youth delegation exchanges to deepen ties in technology and people-to-people engagement.
“PM congratulated President Ramaphosa & South Africa for the successful presidency of @G20. Discussions focused on further cooperation in trade, investment, mining, critical minerals, AI, Digital Public Infrastructure, skill development and food security. The leaders discussed initiating exchange of youth delegations for enhancing technology and people to people ties”. MEA wrote in an X post.
The theme for this year’s G20 Leaders’ Summit 2025, being hosted for the first time on African soil, is ‘Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability’. At the opening session of the G20 Leaders’ Meeting a day earlier, PM Modi called on member nations to reassess global development frameworks and proposed launching a G20 initiative to counter the drug-terror nexus, along with the formation of a global healthcare response team. His address underscored that major global issues demand coordinated international efforts.
During a session titled ‘A Resilient World – the G20’s Contribution to Disaster Risk Reduction; Climate Change; Just Energy Transitions; Food Systems’, PM Modi reiterated India’s focus on a development path that is human-centric, sustainable and inclusive. He pointed out that India’s approach aligns closely with global efforts to strengthen resilience against emerging challenges. Sharing reflections on X, PM Modi posted, “The second session at the G20 Summit in Johannesburg focused on building a resilient world in the face of disasters, climate change and ensuring energy transitions that are just as well as robust food systems. India has been actively working on all these fronts, building a future that is human-centric and inclusive”.
On arrival at the summit venue on November 23, President Ramaphosa greeted PM Modi warmly with a ‘namaste’, symbolising the close ties between the two nations. PM Modi also engaged with numerous world leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, Brazilian President Lula da Silva and others.
(With Inputs from ANI)
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