India courts Africa: Who gains most?

New Delhi’s push across the African continent weds dignity and shared growth to a bold bid to rewrite global rules
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visits to two African countries, South Africa and Ethiopia, within the span of a month, reflect more than routine diplomatic engagement. Together, they signal a deeper evolution in India’s foreign policy, from the legacy of non-alignment to a more confident form of strategic alignment rooted in Global South solidarity.
Interestingly, both South Africa and Ethiopia are members of BRICS, and India is set to host the BRICS Summit in 2026. At a moment when the BRICS bloc is under renewed pressure from the United States, India’s outreach to these two countries underscores its determination to pursue strategic autonomy while standing firmly with its partners in the Global South.
India’s engagement with Africa also underscores its willingness to take the mantle of Global South leadership, prioritizing trust, development, and mutual respect. More importantly, Modi’s visits to South Africa in November and Ethiopia in December signal India’s strategic autonomy and willingness to uphold principled partnerships despite political and economic pressure from Washington.
South Africa and the Global South momentSouth Africa’s G20 presidency in 2025 unfolded amid acute global turbulence. Intensifying great-power competition, ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, and growing disillusionment with multilateral institutions –>have eroded trust in global governance. Pretoria also inherited a rare strategic opportunity of global governance led by the Global South. South Africa drew the culmination of a four-year cycle of G20 presidencies led by Global South countries, following Indonesia, India, and Brazil.
Among these, India’s 2023 presidency provided a particularly instructive template, as reflected in South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s opening remarks when he publicly acknowledged the lessons that South Africa has drawn from India’s successful organization of the G20.
During India’s G20 presidency, India’s message to the group comprised of countries from both the global north and south was that a Global South presidency need not be defensive or reactive. Under the ethos of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, which translates as The world as one family, India brought issues to the high table that are priorities for the Global South, including digital public infrastructure, climate finance, multilateral development bank reform, and inclusive growth. Finally, India’s experience of securing a Leaders’ Declaration through negotiations despite deep geopolitical rifts worked as a template for South Africa.
Oddly enough, the prevailing geopolitical environment surrounding Pretoria’s G20 presidency was even more volatile. Tensions over Ukraine and Gaza risked overshadowing development priorities, while growing disillusionment with multilateral institutions and economic nationalism in major economies continues to thicken North–South divides.
As it turns out, South Africa’s starting position was strengthened by a historic institutional shift that was championed by India. It was under India’s G20 presidency that the African Union was elevated as a permanent G20 member. The company of the AU provided Pretoria with both legitimacy and leverage, allowing it to incorporate African priorities within the global economic agenda.
Drawing from India’s experience, South Africa adopted a form of normative leadership that sought to incorporate African concerns in the broader discussion rather than treating them in isolation. Issues such as equitable energy transitions, sustainable infrastructure, pandemic preparedness, and reform of global financial institutions were framed as universal public goods. The aim was not to Africanize the G20 agenda, but to demonstrate that Africa’s develo