With a Little Help from India: South Africa’s G20 presidency confirms the Global South’s role in shaping the future of international governance

 SOUTH AFRICA’S 2025 G20 presidency unfolded against one of the most turbulent periods in global politics. With the global order strained by intensifying great-power rivalry, multiplying conflicts, and a grow­ing crisis of trust in multilateral institutions, Pretoria stepped into a role that demanded both delicate diplomacy and strong leadership.

The Johannesburg summit was not just a symbolic moment for Africa. It became a test of whether the developing world could uphold multilateralism even as some developed nations chose disengagement. It also became a stage on which India’s quiet but decisive support made a clear difference.

From the outset, South Africa inherited a fractured G20. The forum’s political cohesion was already weakened by the war in Ukraine, rising instability in the Middle East and different parts of Africa, and an increasingly elusive international environment where consensus was becoming more elusive. Multilateral institu­tions faced questions about their relevance, while great powers had begun to prioritise unilateral strategic interests over cooperation.

Furthermore, the US boycott of the summit based on the false claims of white genocide was a clear political setback. To its credit, Pretoria refused to allow these setbacks derail the broader pur­pose of the summit. When Washington requested that President Cyril Ramaphosa hand over the G20 presidency to a junior em­bassy official, Pretoria firmly rejected the request, insisting that such a gesture would violate diplomatic protocol.

Pretoria’s counteroffer to arrange a like-ranked official to con­duct the handover at the foreign ministry transformed a potentially embarrassing situation into a show of sovereign digni­ty. It set a clear signal that Africa was no longer willing to accept any lesser status within global governance.

The boycott was more than symbol­ic. It fuelled political tensions within the forum, fed narratives about the ‘weap­onisation’ of the G20, and renewed fears that the forum might fracture along geo­political lines. Yet, the impact was not what Washington had intended. Rather than delegitimising the Johannesburg summit, the absence of the US highlighted an emerging reality. The G20 could well function without one of its founding members.

More than 40 countries and institutions still attended the sum­mit, including many middle powers who defied American pres­sure. Their presence reflected not only solidarity with Africa but also recognition of the continent’s growing strategic relevance, from its youthful demography to its centrality in global critical minerals supply chains.

Despite the absence of leaders from Russia, China, Mexico, and Argentina, South Africa succeeded in issuing a “Leaders’ Declara­tion”, an outcome that had proven increasingly difficult in recent years. The statement called for a fair and lasting peace in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Palestine, Ukraine, and other conflict zones, while reaffirming commitments on climate action and gender equality.

That South Africa secured an agreement on sensitive geopo­litical topics, despite boycotts and open objections, is perhaps the most unambiguous indication of its diplomatic coming of age. It demonstrated that a developing country, hosting a sum­mit under extraordinary pressure, could still deliver a coherent multilateral outcome.

The quiet force behind much of this stability was India. Unlike the US, India chose engagement over estrangement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only attended the summit but actively endorsed Ramaphosa’s leadership. This was not merely symbolic solidarity; it was strategic reinforcement.

India and South Africa have long shared a belief in inclusive multilateralism, in­spired by the philosophies of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and Ubuntu. Both nations view the agency of the Global South as primordial to salvaging global governance.

India’s role in South Africa’s success be­gan long before the Johannesburg summit. During its 2023 presidency, India secured the African Union’s permanent mem­bership in the G20, which significantly strengthened Africa’s place in the forum. India also promoted its model of Digital Public Infrastructure, transforming it into a framework that South Africa could adapt for financial inclu­sion, health governance, and social-protection delivery in Africa. Moreover, India’s “Voice of the Global South” platform created new avenues for developing countries to influence the G20 agenda, pro­viding South Africa with a broad coalition of supportive partners.

During the 2025 summit itself, India’s support was both prac­tical and political. South Africa openly acknowledged that it had “learnt a lot” from India’s experience hosting the G20. New Delhi provided best-practice guidance on managing working groups, digital coordination, logistics, sherpa processes, and public diplomacy—expertise that proved invaluable as Preto­ria navigated the complexities of hosting the continent’s most expansive global policy forum.

The strategic alignment between India and South Africa to­wards multilateralism was further demonstrated through the G20 troika, which included Brazil, serving as a stabilising force amid global turbulence. India’s experience in securing consensus during its own presidency, despite acute geopolitical rifts, offered Pretoria a model of diplomatic patience and value-based diplomacy.

The trilateral engagement among Ramaphosa, Modi and Lula da Silva also reaffirmed the continued relevance of IBSA, a long-standing coalition that symbolises democratic cooperation across three continents.

South Africa’s presidency was therefore more than a test of organising the event. It became an assertion of African leadership at a moment when global governance is undergoing a profound realignment. Pretoria demonstrated that the legitimacy of the G20 does not hinge on the participation of any single country, and that the Global South possesses both the skills and vision to guide multilateralism, even in a fragmented world.

By doing this, South Africa promoted a worldview grounded in Ubuntu—the idea of shared humanity that aligns with India’s Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and provides a counterweight to the unilateralism that has re-emerged in parts of the developed world.

The US claim that it would “restore legitimacy” to the G20 when it hosts the summit at the Trump National Doral Miami in 2026 only highlights the contradiction in its stance: legitimacy cannot be restored by those who choose absence over engagement. Until the UK hosts in 2027, South Africa remains part of the G20 troika. Therefore, the US would have to convince all members to remove Pretoria. That is neither realistic nor politically workable.

South Africa’s G20 presidency marks a significant milestone for the continent and reaffirms the Global South’s role in shaping the future of global governance. With India’s quiet support, Pretoria not only weathered one of the most challenging G20 summits in recent years but also demonstrated that the renewal of multilateralism may come from the collaborative leadership of the South, rather than just the traditional powers of the North.