Johannesburg: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday met South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the G20 Summit here and the two leaders discussed cooperation in various areas, including trade, investment, mining, critical minerals, AI and food security.
“PM @narendramodi held a warm and productive meeting with President @CyrilRamaphosa of South Africa,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on social media after the meeting.
He said the 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,” Jaiswal added.
Modi also congratulated the South African leader on the successful presidency of the G20 summit this year.
“PM congratulated President Ramaphosa & South Africa for the successful presidency of @G20,” Jaiswal added.
South Africa is hosting the first G20 Summit being held in Africa. The African Union became a member of the G20 during India’s presidency in 2023.
This is PM Modi’s fourth official visit to South Africa, following his bilateral visit in 2016 and later for the two BRICS summits in 2018 and 2023.
South Africa is the largest trading partner of India in the African region. Bilateral trade between India and South Africa stood at USD 19.25 billion in 2023-24.
Indian businesses have invested over USD 1.3 billion in South Africa from April 2000 to September 2024. These investments traverse diverse sectors, encompassing pharmaceuticals, IT, automotive, banking, and mining.
On Saturday, upon reaching the G20 Summit venue in Johannesburg, Modi thanked South African President Cyril Ramaphosa “for the warm welcome and for organising this important Summit”.
Addressing the opening session of the G20 Leaders’ Meeting, Modi called for a profound rethink of global development parameters and proposed the establishment of a G20 initiative to counter the drug-terror nexus and a global healthcare response team.
Modi is visiting Johannesburg from November 21 to 23 to attend the 20th G20 Leaders’ Summit.
PM Modi calls for global compact on AI to prevent misuse
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for a global compact to prevent misuse of artificial intelligence and made a strong pitch for critical technologies to be human-centric, instead of finance-centric.
Addressing the third session of the G20 summit here, Modi also said technology applications should be ‘global’ rather than ‘national’, and based on ‘open source’ rather than ‘exclusive models’.
PM Modi said that this vision has been integrated into India’s technology ecosystem, and the same has resulted in significant benefits, be it in space applications, AI or digital payments, where it is a world leader.
He was addressing the third session of the G20 Summit on the topic – “A Fair and a Just Future for All – Critical Minerals; Decent Work; Artificial Intelligence.”
“We must all ensure that AI is used for global good and its misuse is prevented. To do this, we must create a global compact on AI based on certain core principles, including effective human oversight, safety-by-design, transparency, and strict restrictions on the use of AI in deepfakes, crime, and terror activities,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister said AI systems that impact human life, security, or public trust must be responsible and auditable.
“And most importantly – AI should enhance human capabilities, but the ultimate responsibility for decision-making always remains with humans,” he added.
Modi said in this age of AI, the approach must rapidly shift from ‘Jobs of Today’ to ‘Capabilities of Tomorrow’.
“Unlocking talent mobility is essential for rapid innovation. We made progress on this topic at the Delhi G20. We hope that in the next few years, the G20 will develop a global framework for talent mobility,” PM Modi said.
