PM Modi Meets South African President Ramaphosa; Pushes For UNSC Reform

PM Narendra Modi met South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Calling it a ‘good catching up’, PM Modi shared details of their meeting on X, noting the warmth and shared vision between the two leaders.

President Ramaphosa backs PM Modi’s call for UNSC reform

Following their meeting, President Ramaphosa strongly supported Prime Minister Modi’s push for reforming the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

“The Council has become too rigid, too narrow, and too disconnected from today’s multipolar realities,” Ramaphosa said at the summit.

He emphasised the Council’s inability to respond effectively to current global challenges—from humanitarian crises to acts of aggression.

“Reform is a necessity. The Security Council must be made more democratic, more regionally representative, and more accountable,” he added.

Strategic partnership grows

Prime Minister Modi and Ramaphosa last met just 19 days earlier during the G7 Summit in Canada.

At that meeting, they, along with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, reaffirmed their strong commitment to the interests of the Global South.

The BRICS Summit offered an opportunity to advance that shared agenda.

India and South Africa continue to strengthen their strategic partnership with cooperation in trade, skills development, technology, and defence.

The two nations are exploring deeper collaboration in agro-processing, mining, and financial sectors. Bilateral trade between them has already reached nearly $20 billion.

South Africa, as one of Africa’s leading voices, joins India in championing the concerns of developing nations on global platforms.

President Ramaphosa had previously attended the 2023 G20 Summit in India and was also the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in 2019.

PM Modi, in turn, visited South Africa for last year’s BRICS Summit, continuing the high-level diplomatic engagement between the two nations.

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