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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the inaugural session of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg to call for a fundamental reorientation of global development priorities, urging member nations to adopt approaches that are inclusive, sustainable and grounded in civilisational knowledge.
With Africa hosting the Summit for the first time, he said the historic moment required the world to rethink conventional metrics of progress, especially for regions historically burdened by resource constraints and ecological vulnerability.
Speaking at the session titled “Inclusive and sustainable economic growth leaving no one behind,” the Prime Minister said India’s guiding principle of Integral Humanism could serve as a blueprint for balanced development. During his address, he unveiled three major proposals centred on knowledge preservation, capacity building, and transnational security cooperation.
Opening his remarks with a call to protect time-tested practices of sustainable living, PM Modi proposed the establishment of a Global Traditional Knowledge Repository under the G20 framework.
He said India’s Indian Knowledge Systems initiative could act as a foundation for a global platform that documents eco-friendly and culturally rooted community practices from across the world. The repository aims to safeguard traditional wisdom on health, environment, and social cohesion and ensure its transmission to future generations at a time marked by climate challenges and rapidly evolving lifestyles.
Expressing concern over the proliferation of powerful synthetic drugs such as fentanyl, the Prime Minister warned of the threat they pose to public health, social order, and global security.
He called for a dedicated G20 Initiative on Countering the Drug–Terror Nexus, intended to integrate financial, governance, and security mechanisms to disrupt trafficking networks, block illicit financial flows, and undercut a major funding source for terrorist organisations. This, he said, required unified international action.
With the Summit centred on inclusive and sustainable growth, PM Modi said Africa’s leadership role in the G20 presented an opportunity for a global “course correction.” His proposals—spanning traditional knowledge, future-oriented skills development and shared security, are expected to feature prominently in the ongoing negotiations shaping the next phase of international cooperation.
