New Delhi (TDI): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to travel to South Africa for the upcoming G20 summit, an event the United States has decided to boycott.
Modi had skipped recent international gatherings where US President Donald Trump was present, including the ASEAN summit in Malaysia and Trump’s Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt, sparking talk that New Delhi wanted to avoid any direct engagement with Washington until a pending India-US trade agreement was settled.
The US administration announced it would not participate in the first G20 summit to be hosted on African soil, claiming that South Africa continues to discriminate against white citizens. President Trump has also dismissed the summit’s focus on global solidarity, climate-related challenges faced by developing nations, the shift to cleaner energy, and efforts to reduce the debt burdens of poorer countries.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs confirmed Modi’s attendance on Wednesday. Before departing, the prime minister said he planned to present India’s viewpoint in line with the ideas of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and “One Earth, One Family, One Future.”
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In a message shared on X, Modi described the Johannesburg gathering as particularly meaningful because it is being held in Africa, adding that he intends to hold discussions with several world leaders.
Modi also highlighted that he looks forward to meeting members of the Indian community in South Africa, one of the largest Indian diasporas anywhere in the world. On the sidelines of the summit, he is expected to hold bilateral talks with various leaders at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
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According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Modi is scheduled to address all three sessions of the summit. A senior MEA official said that while it was too early to predict what the final leaders’ declaration would contain, issues of key importance to India and to the broader Global South would be strongly emphasized by the Indian leadership.
