Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kicked off an energetic three-day trip to South Africa to attend the much-awaited G20 summit in Johannesburg. This marks the fourth time in a row that the G20 summit champions the Global South, aiming to tackle tricky problems that emerging economies face amid today’s shaky global economic scene. Sudhakar Dalela, secretary of economic relations at India’s Ministry of External Affairs, shared some exciting details with the media. He said this visit is Modi’s fourth official trip to South Africa. Modi has been there before in 2016 for a bilateral event and later for BRICS summits in 2018 and 2023. What makes this event even more special? It’s the first-ever G20 meeting on the African continent! This creates a golden opportunity to shine a spotlight on African development issues like never before. Modi will also join the leaders of India, Brazil, and South Africa at the IBSA summit that runs alongside the G20 talks. And don’t be surprised if he pops in for friendly chats with other prime ministers too, including from Canada and Australia. South Africa proudly took over the G20 presidency on December 1, 2024, keeping development at the heart of everything. Their big motto? “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability.” They’re pushing focus on important goals such as building disaster resilience, making debts easier for poorer countries, boosting finance for fair energy change, and using critical minerals for growth that includes everyone. Interestingly, South Africa is the fourth developing country to lead the G20 in a row, helping keep developing nations on the international stage. This presidency wraps up the current round of G20 leaderships, before the USA takes the wheel next year. South Africa has set up three special task forces to tackle key areas: Inclusive Economic Growth, Industry and Jobs with Reduced Inequality; Food Security; and the rising world of AI, Data Rules, and Innovation for better development. On top of this, they’re reviewing the G20’s work from the first cycle and planning ahead. They also aim to solve the tricky problem of the high cost of capital for developing countries. The presidency has already released an important report on global inequality and launched the G20 Africa Engagement Framework. Now, it’s time for leaders to bridge their differences and work together to deliver big wins on hot topics like sustainable development goals, climate finance, clean energy, debt transparency, and breakthrough tech like AI. This G20 summit in South Africa promises to be a dazzling event that could rewrite the rules for emerging economies and the whole world!