Round The World

New Delhi, 11 July 2025

Modi’s Five-Nation Visit

PAVING THE THIRD WAY

By Dr. D.K. Giri

(Prof of Practice, NIIS Group of Institutions) 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited five countries en route to attend the 17^th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro. This was his longest trip since a decade. These visits also broke many new grounds. The countries he visited – Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, Brazil and Namibia - were all former colonies of Britain, Spain, Germany and Portugal. Significantly, in the current geo-political scenario, whilst America and China are flexing their military and economic muscles to gain influence world over, these countries have tried to remain independent of the power blocs. 

Strategically, Prime Minister Modi may be offering a third way by inviting these countries to ‘grow together’ as partners and seek ‘security through solidarity’. He said that the power and value of a country do not manifest only through military mind or market size but in promoting inclusivity, cooperation and trust. The reference is obvious, that is, to America and China. Let us explore the viability of this aspiration of Indian diplomacy and leadership. 

There is hardly any debate on India’s commitment to the Global South. Modi’s visit to these countries heavily reflected this. He himself asserted that India has been concerned about the conditions of exploitation and discrimination of Global South. New Delhi sought to create an equal world where Global South has a voice and space. It created Non-Alignment Movement in the past was active in G-77, now G-20. Modi claims to, and rightly so, have led the G-20 successfully. 

The notable achievement has been inclusion of The African Union as a full member in the New Delhi summit. He promised to give a ‘new form’ to BRICS under its leadership that is passed on from the current Chair, Brazil. As a wizard of acronyms, Modi even suggested a new name for BRICS; Building Resilience and Innovation for Cooperation and Sustainability. Will he succeed in transforming BRICS as he did to G-20? Remember, BRICS is largely controlled by Sino-Russian axis. 

In the absence of Chinese and Russian Presidents, there was quite a bit of coherence evident in the deliberations and statements that came out of Rio Summit. The members were unanimous in their reference to the wars in Gaza and Iran. The Indian delegation even managed to insert a paragraph on Pahalgam condemning the act of terrorism. This was not possible in the recent SCO Conference. Yet, substantially restructuring BRICS is a tall order. If Modi succeeds in giving it a new form, kudos is due to his deft diplomacy and inimitable leadership. 

However, his first stop was the Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad & Tobago. This was after the last visit of an Indian Prime Minister in 1999. Indian labourers were brought to that country way back from 1845. The current President Christine Carla Kangaloo and the Prime Minister Kamla-Prasad Bissessar owe their ancestry to India. Modi, as usual, addressed the Indian Diaspora and said the story of Diaspora is no longer that of struggles and suffering but now consists of success and value. The leadership of Indian origin is a testimony to that hugely qualitative change. An important MoU was signed on Indian Pharmacopia, meant to facilitate supply of generic medicines from India. 

The next stop was Ghana. Modi’s visit was first by an Indian Prime Minister in 30 years. Ghana is a strategic partner for India in West Africa as it is a member of African Union and ECOWAS – Economic Community of West African States comprising 15 countries. Four MoUs were signed during the visit in the areas of traditional medicine and Ayurveda, BIS – Bureau of Indian Standards and a Ghana counterpart for trade investment, a cultural exchange (2025-29) and a Joint Commission for Regular Interaction between officials of both countries. Ghana was one of the first countries to use UPI payments. New Delhi offers to develop Ghana as a vaccine hub of Africa. 

India would focus on Ghana to reduce China’s dominance in Africa. New Delhi has second largest number of projects in Ghana (11), and Indian companies have invested up to 2b USD in 818 projects. Ghana has been active in international politics along with India from the days of Kwame Nkrumah and Jawahar Lal Nehru. Ghana has produced illustrious personalities like Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of United Nations and Shirley Botchwey, the current Secretary-General of the Commonwealth. Modi duly acknowledged that. In turn, Ghana honoured Modi with their highest civilian award. 

As usual, Modi appreciated the contribution of 15000 strong-Indian Diaspora who contributes to deepening the contact between both the countries. The bilateral relationship was elevated to a comprehensive partnership. India and Ghana are looking forward to consolidating their relations. They have agreed to double the trade (3b USD) in five years. New Delhi is aiming at securing a strong platform in Ghana to engage most of Africa. 

In Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, the third stop in Modi’s itinerary, he was received by President Javier Milei. The discussions focused on common themes of his entire visit – pharmaceuticals, vaccines, digital technology, food security and critical minerals. Argentina is rich in shale gas and oil. Both countries agreed on critical minerals as India offered pharmaceuticals. 

Modi flew from the neighbouring country Argentina to Rio (Brazil) for the BRICS Summit, the highlights of which have been mentioned here earlier. After the Summit, Modi made an official visit to the country. He was met by his counterpart, the formidable Left leader, the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, popularly known as Lula. Modi acknowledged the contribution of Lula as the chief architect of India-Brazil strategic partnership. Both leaders agreed that India-Brazil cooperation is an important pillar of the world. Both countries are members of BRICS and IBSA. Six agreements were inked which covered renewable energy, terrorism, intellectual property, agriculture, protection of classified information and defence (on mutual trust). 

The last port of call was Namibia. This was first for Prime Minister Modi and third ever by an Indian Prime Minister. Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah conferred Modi with the highest civilian award of her country. India has stood by Namibia’s struggle for liberation. Its forerunner SWAPO – South West African Peoples Organisation had diplomatic contact with India in 1986. India was one of the first countries to recognise Namibia as it got independence in 1990. Several MoUs were signed with Namibia including the Global Bi-fuel Alliance. Namibia also accepted to launch UPI digital payments. Modi addressed the Namibian Parliament. He struck a chord as he announced that India aims in Africa to build together. Africa should not be seen as a source of raw materials but also for value creation. 

All in all, this long trip of five countries was an exercise essentially in economic diplomacy. Modi said profoundly that relationship should be built through technology, trade and trust. In this tour, Modi articulated alternative economic mechanisms to the developed world of Global North. It is perfectly in order to promote economic diplomacy and build trade partnership. But, at the end of the day, the world order is defined by power, in its multiple dimensions. The countries in Global South are disunited despite common history and destiny. The big question is how to execute their aspiration in the current geo-political complexity. Admittedly, economic diplomacy can be independent of other variables in global politics. However, this is doable and desirable as long as it lasts. ---INFA 

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)