The two-day G20 Leaders’ Summit is set to commence on Saturday (November 22, 2025). The first summit of the group of major economies to be held in Africa is further marked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s pointed absence.
Hours after reaching Johannesburg, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (November 21) held a meeting with Naspers Chairman and CEO on expanding the South African multinational internet and technology company’s investments in India’s digital ecosystem. Separately, Mr. Modi also met his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese and the two leaders took stock of progress in cooperation in diverse areas, including defence and trade.
Also read | U.N. chief Guterres urges G20 to use power to ease global suffering
The G20 nations hold enormous potential to ease suffering and set the world on a more peaceful course, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said, urging the bloc to lead the action required. “Now is the time for leadership and vision,” he said, citing conflicts, climate chaos, economic uncertainty, inequality and a collapse in global aid.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (November 22) also met members of the Indian community based in South Africa who are actively working with different community organisations.
“They shared their experiences on various issues and were very appreciative of India’s strides across different fields. Urged them to keep up the momentum with which they are enhancing people-to-people linkages,” he said.
“Also asked them to boost the popularity of Indian culture among the people of South Africa, including practices such as Yoga, Ayurveda,” he added.
The first G20 summit to be held in Africa opens on Saturday (November 22, 2025) with an ambitious agenda to make progress on solving some of the long-standing problems that have afflicted the world’s poorest nations.
Leaders and top government officials from the richest and leading emerging economies will come together at an exhibition centre near the famous Soweto township in South Africa — once home to Nelson Mandela — to try and find some consensus on the priorities set out by the host country.
They include more help for poor countries to recover from climate-related disasters, reduce their foreign debt burdens, transition to green energy sources and harness their own critical mineral wealth — all in an attempt to counter widening global inequality.
“We’ll see,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on if the G20 could prioritise developing world countries and make meaningful reforms.
AP
The G20 nations hold enormous potential to ease suffering and set the world on a more peaceful course, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said, urging the bloc to lead the action required.
Mr. Guterres made the remarks at a media briefing shortly after arriving in Johannesburg on Friday (November 21, 2025) to participate in the G20 Leaders’ Summit for the next two days.
“My message to G20 leaders over the next two days is simple. Now is the time for leadership and vision,” Mr. Guterres said as he cited conflicts, climate chaos, economic uncertainty, inequality and a collapse in global aid as causes of inflicting massive suffering around the world.
He added that rising military spending is drawing resources away from development.
After arriving in Johannesburg, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (November 21, 2025) interacted with Indian origin tech entrepreneurs and members of the Indian community based in South Africa and called upon them to deepen their engagement with India.
Mr. Modi, who is in Johannesburg to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit, in a social media post said he had a “fruitful interaction” with Indian origin tech entrepreneurs and they talked about the work they are doing in sectors such as FinTech, social media platforms, agriculture, education, healthcare, medical devices and more.
“Called upon them to deepen their engagement with India and work closely with our people,” he said.
The two-day G20 Leaders’ Summit is set to commence on Saturday (November 22, 2025). The first summit of the group of major economies to be held in Africa is further marked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s pointed absence.
The Johannesburg gathering is being attended by a host of world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
But Mr. Trump is boycotting, with his government saying South Africa’s priorities — notably boosting global cooperation on trade and climate action — run counter to U.S. policy.
AFP