Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Johannesburg on Friday to attend the G20 Leaders Summit hosted under South Africa’s presidency. He landed at Waterkloof Air Force Base in Gauteng, where he received a traditional welcome, with artists performing cultural songs and dances.

This marks the first G20 Summit to take place in Africa. The African Union joined the G20 during India’s presidency in 2023.

On the sidelines of the summit, the prime minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings with several leaders gathered in Johannesburg. He will also take part in the sixth IBSA summit, the trilateral forum of India, Brazil and South Africa. Before departing, Modi wrote on social media, "Will be attending the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. This is a particularly special Summit as it is being held in Africa. Various global issues will be discussed there. Will be meeting various world leaders during the Summit."

He added, "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'." The summit will offer a platform to deliberate on major global challenges. South Africa has continued the work of the previous summits held in New Delhi and Rio de Janeiro with the theme for this year being 'Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability'.

Modi said, "I look forward to my interactions with leaders of the partner countries, and participation in the 6th IBSA Summit scheduled on the sidelines of the Summit." He also noted, "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."

Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to address all three sessions of the G20 Summit. The first session is titled Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth Leaving No One Behind and will cover building economies, trade, financing for development and the debt burden.

The other two sessions are A Resilient World – the G20's Contribution and A Fair and a Just Future for All, which will discuss subjects including disaster risk reduction, climate change, energy transitions, food systems, critical minerals, decent work and artificial intelligence.

This will be the fourth consecutive G20 Summit hosted in the Global South. US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are not attending the summit.