South African President Cyril Ramaphosa shared a warm and humorous moment with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their bilateral meeting at the G20 Summit in Johannesburg. Reflecting on the challenges of hosting the global event, Ramaphosa jokingly remarked that India should have informed South Africa in advance “how difficult” it would be to host the G20.
South Africa, which hosted the first-ever G20 Summit on African soil, formally concluded the event on Sunday. Ramaphosa ceremonially brought the summit to a close by striking the G20 Gavel, handing over the presidency to the United States.
During their delegation-level talks, Ramaphosa thanked India for its support throughout South Africa’s G20 presidency. His light-hearted comment—“You should have told us that it is such a difficult task, maybe we would have run away”—sparked laughter across the room, including from Prime Minister Modi.
The leaders reviewed ongoing cooperation across a broad spectrum of areas, including trade, investment, mining, AI, critical minerals, and food security. Ramaphosa noted that South Africa learned significantly from India’s G20 presidency in 2023, describing India’s hosting as “spectacular.” PM Modi responded with a smile, saying, “Small is always beautiful.”
India hosted the 18th G20 Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi in 2023, a landmark year that saw the African Union join the G20 as a permanent member.
Following his discussion with Ramaphosa, Modi posted on X that the two leaders had an “excellent meeting,” reviewing the full range of bilateral ties and identifying new pathways for cooperation, particularly in commerce, culture, technology, investment, skills development, AI, and critical minerals.
Modi also expressed gratitude for South Africa’s support in relocating cheetahs to India and invited Ramaphosa to join the International Big Cat Alliance. The South African leader assured India of his nation’s full support when it assumes the chairship of BRICS in 2026.
