PM Modi Calls for New Global Development Model at G20 Summit

• PM praises South Africa’s G20 leadership and focus areas including AI and food security
• Calls for human-centric development rooted in “Integral Humanism”
• Proposes global traditional knowledge platform and Africa skill-building programme
• Seeks coordinated action on drug-terror nexus through G20

GG News Bureau
Pretoria, 22nd Nov: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday addressed the G20 Summit Session 1, commending South Africa’s presidency for carrying forward major initiatives launched in New Delhi last year. He highlighted progress on areas such as skilled migration, tourism, food security, AI, digital economy, innovation and women empowerment.

The Prime Minister said that while the G20 has shaped global finance and economic growth for decades, traditional growth parameters have left a large population deprived of resources and have pushed nature toward over-exploitation — a burden disproportionately borne by Africa.

He called for redefining development metrics through India’s philosophical approach of Integral Humanism, which sees humanity, society and nature as an integrated whole, enabling harmony between progress and the planet.

Modi proposed creating a Global Traditional Knowledge Repository under the G20 framework, building on India’s Indian Knowledge Systems initiative. The platform, he said, would preserve and share communities’ sustainable practices rooted in culture, social cohesion and respect for nature.

Strengthening Africa’s youth and talent base is in the world’s collective interest, the Prime Minister stressed, announcing the G20–Africa Skills Multiplier Initiative. Under a “train-the-trainers” model, the aim is to prepare one million certified trainers in Africa within the next decade, who would go on to skill millions more, boosting long-term local capacity.

Modi also proposed establishing a G20 Global Healthcare Response Team of trained medical experts ready for swift deployment during any international health emergency or natural disaster.

Expressing concern over the rising threat of deadly drugs like fentanyl, he called narcotics trade a menace that fuels terrorism and undermines public health and security. India has therefore suggested a G20 Initiative on Countering the Drug–Terror Nexus, bringing together finance, governance and security tools to weaken the drug-terror economy.

Reaffirming strong India–Africa solidarity, Modi recalled the historic inclusion of the African Union as a permanent G20 member at the New Delhi Summit. He urged that the spirit of empowerment must extend beyond the G20 so the voice of the Global South becomes stronger across international institutions.

“बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद,” he said, concluding his address.