Modi visiting South Africa for historic G20 Summit: What's on agenda?

In his departure speech before leaving India, Modi said: "This will be a particularly special Summit given that it would be the first G20 Summit being held in Africa. During India’s Presidency of the G20 in 2023, the African Union had become a member of the G20."

Modi will be visiting South Africa from November 21 to November 23.

He said: "The theme of this year’s G20 has been ‘Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability’, by which South Africa has carried forward the outcomes from the previous Summits held in New Delhi, India and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I will present India’s perspective at the Summit in line with our vision of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ and 'One earth, One Family and One future'."

He will also attend 6th IBSA Summit during his stay in South Africa.

"During the visit, I also look forward to my interaction with the Indian diaspora in South Africa, which is one of the largest outside India," Modi said.

What is G20?

The G20 was founded in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis of 1997 – 1998 as an informal forum for the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the most important industrialised and developing economies to discuss international economic and financial stability.

The forum initially focused largely on broad macroeconomic issues, but it has since expanded its agenda to inter-alia include trade, climate change, sustainable development, health, agriculture, energy, environment, climate change, and anti-corruption, as per G20 website.

G20 members include the world's major economies, representing 85% of global GDP, 75% of international trade, and two-thirds of the world's population.

The G20 comprises 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States), the European Union, and since 2023, the African Union.