PM Modi arrives in South Africa to attend G20 summit
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Johannesburg (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Johannesburg on Friday to attend the G20 Leaders' Summit being held under South Africa’s Presidency.
Modi arrived at Waterkloof Air Force Base (AFB) in Gauteng, where he was accorded a traditional welcome. He was greeted by artists who performed cultural song and dances.
"Landed in Johannesburg for the G20 Summit related engagements. Look forward to productive discussions with world leaders on key global issues. Our focus will be on strengthening cooperation, advancing development priorities and ensuring a better future for all," Modi said in a social media post.
This is the first G20 Summit being held in Africa. The African Union became a member of the G20 during India’s presidency in 2023.
On the margins of the summit, the prime minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg. He will also attend the 6th summit of IBSA - a trilateral grouping of India, Brazil and South Africa.
"Will be attending the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. This is a particularly special Summit as it is being held in Africa. Various global issues will be discussed there. Will be meeting various world leaders during the Summit," Modi posted on social media before departure.
"I will present India's perspective at the Summit in line with our vision of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' and 'One earth, One Family and One Future,'" Modi said.
The Summit will be an opportunity to discuss key global issues. The theme of this year's G20 has been 'Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability', by which South Africa has carried forward the outcomes from the previous Summits held in New Delhi and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he added.
"I look forward to my interactions with leaders of the partner countries, and participation in the 6th IBSA Summit scheduled on the sidelines of the Summit," Modi said.
"During the visit, I also look forward to my interaction with the Indian diaspora in South Africa, which is one of the largest outside India," he added.
Prime Minister Modi is expected to speak in all three sessions of the G20 Summit.
The three sessions of the Summit include "Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth Leaving No One Behind: Building our economies, the role of trade, financing for development and the debt burden".
The other two sessions are "A Resilient World – the G20's Contribution: Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change, Just Energy Transitions, Food Systems"; and "A Fair and a Just Future for All: Critical Minerals, Decent Work, Artificial Intelligence".
This will be the fourth consecutive summit of the grouping that will be held in the Global South.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are not attending the summit.
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Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
