Beyond the Handshakes: Decoding India’s Strategic Moves at the 2025 G20 Summit in Johannesburg 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s departure from the 2025 G20 Summit in Johannesburg marked the conclusion of a highly strategic diplomatic engagement where India solidified its role as a key architect of a new global consensus, successfully advancing its interests through a dual strategy of forging concrete bilateral partnerships—most notably a significant joint initiative with Italy to combat terrorist financing and agreements with Canada and Japan to deepen cooperation in defense, space, and technology—while simultaneously championing a visionary, human-centric framework for global AI governance that challenged prevailing finance-driven and exclusive models, thereby reinforcing its position as an indispensable bridge between the developed world and the Global South on a stage notably altered by the absence of the United States.

Beyond the Handshakes: Decoding India’s Strategic Moves at the 2025 G20 Summit in Johannesburg 

The curtains have closed on the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, an event that will be remembered not only for the weighty global issues on its agenda but for the palpable shift in geopolitical dynamics it represented. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed for New Delhi, the narrative was not merely one of diplomatic niceties but of a nation strategically consolidating its role as a bridge between the developed world and the ascendant Global South. The summit, hosted by South Africa, became a stage where India moved beyond rhetoric, translating its vision into tangible partnerships and setting the tone for the future of global governance. 

The Stage Was Set: A G20 of the Global South, For the Global South 

From the outset, the Johannesburg summit was distinct. With the United States opting for a controversial boycott over claims regarding South Africa’s domestic policies, the forum was primed for a different kind of conversation—one less dominated by traditional Western powers. As noted by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his closing address, the groundwork for this was laid by previous presidencies held by Indonesia, India, and Brazil. This “foundation of the Global South” ensured the agenda remained sharply focused on issues like climate finance, debt relief for developing nations, and reducing global inequality. 

This environment was a natural habitat for Indian diplomacy. PM Modi, building on the legacy of India’s own G20 presidency, operated from a position of strength and experience. His reported quip from President Ramaphosa—”You should have told us it is such a difficult task”—was more than a lighthearted moment; it was an acknowledgment of the immense effort required to steer the world’s most powerful economies toward consensus, a challenge India successfully navigated just two years prior. 

The Bilaterals: A Tapestry of Strategic Recalibration 

While the collective G20 declaration is the public-facing outcome, the true substance of such summits often unfolds in the sideline meetings. PM Modi’s schedule was a masterclass in targeted diplomacy, weaving together threads from nearly every continent. 

1. The India-Italy Counter-Terrorism Compact: A Standout AchievementThe most significant and concrete outcome was theIndia-Italy Joint Initiative to Counter Financing of Terrorism. This is a profound evolution in bilateral relations. By moving beyond traditional areas of cooperation like trade and culture, India and Italy are targeting the lifeblood of global terrorism: its funding networks. 

This initiative is strategically astute for several reasons: 

• Multilateral Reinforcement: It promises to deepen collaboration within critical bodies like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), allowing India to further institutionalize its counter-terrorism priorities on the global stage. 

• Shared Intelligence: Combating terror financing requires sophisticated financial intelligence sharing. This pact signals a high level of trust and operational synergy between the two nations’ security and financial agencies. 

• A Human-Centric Security Model: This move dovetails perfectly with PM Modi’s broader call at the summit for a “human-centric” approach to critical technologies. It positions security not as an abstract geopolitical concept, but as a fundamental need for global citizens. 

2. Re-energizing the QUAD Anchor with JapanThe meeting with Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, was crucial for stabilizing a key partnership. With the geopolitical landscape in the Indo-Pacific in constant flux, reaffirming ties with Japan—a fellow democracy and economic powerhouse—is paramount. Their discussion on “innovation, defence, and talent mobility” points to a relationship maturing beyond infrastructure investment. “Talent mobility” specifically suggests a push to make it easier for Indian skilled professionals to contribute to Japan’s tech sector, addressing a key demographic challenge for Tokyo while exporting Indian expertise.
3. Navigating Complex Waters with CanadaThe meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, their second in five months, indicates a conscious effort from both sides to inject positive momentum into a relationship that has faced recent strains. The agreement to “unlock the potential for deeper cooperation in defence and space sectors” is particularly noteworthy. It signals a desire to move past contentious issues and build a forward-looking partnership based on shared economic and technological interests, recognizing that the bilateral relationship is too significant to be defined by single points of friction.

The Visionary Pitch: India’s Blueprint for the AI Age 

Beyond the bilaterals, PM Modi’s intervention on artificial intelligence may be his most lasting contribution from the summit. His call for a “global compact” to prevent AI’s misuse was not a vague platitude; it was a structured philosophical framework built on three compelling pillars: 

• Human-Centric vs. Finance-Centric: In an era where AI development is often driven by corporate profit and market valuation, Modi’s push for a human-centric model is a radical and necessary corrective. It argues that the primary metric for AI’s success should be its ability to solve human problems—from healthcare and climate change to education—not its capacity to generate wealth for a select few. 

• Global vs. National: This is a direct challenge to the emerging trend of techno-nationalism, where countries hoard critical technologies and data within their borders. By advocating for “global” technology applications, Modi is positioning India as a champion of open, collaborative innovation that can benefit all of humanity, not just the nations that develop it first. 

• Open Source vs. Exclusive Models: This is perhaps the most pragmatic pillar. Promoting open-source AI models can democratize access, prevent the concentration of power in a few tech giants, and foster a more diverse and resilient global tech ecosystem. It aligns with India’s own digital public infrastructure success story (e.g., UPI, Aadhaar), which is built on open-source principles. 

This trifecta presents India not just as a rule-taker in the tech world, but as a rule-shaper, offering a compelling alternative to the closed, state-controlled model of China and the corporate-dominated model of the West. 

The Bigger Picture: India as the Linchpin of a New Multilateralism 

The Johannesburg G20, in the absence of the U.S., offered a glimpse of a potential future world order—one that is more multipolar and less predictable. In this context, India’s role was indispensable. It engaged deeply with fellow Global South leaders like Ramaphosa, while also holding substantive talks with traditional allies from Europe and North America. 

President Ramaphosa’s refusal to hand the G20 presidency gavel to a U.S. diplomat, as captured in a widely shared video, was a powerful symbolic moment. It underscored the fractures in the old order. Into this void, India, under Modi’s stewardship, is projecting itself as a reliable, consistent, and principled actor. It is a nation that can speak the language of both Silicon Valley and the emerging economies of Africa and Asia, advocating for a form of globalization that is more equitable and just. 

As the world grapples with overlapping crises of climate, conflict, and technological disruption, the demand for a bridge-builder has never been higher. The 2025 G20 Summit revealed that India is not just willing to be that bridge; it is already laying the foundation, one bilateral compact and one visionary global framework at a time. The engagements in Johannesburg were not an end, but a signal of India’s intent to continue shaping the contours of 21st-century diplomacy.