New Delhi/ Johannesburg, Nov 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday pressed world leaders to redefine global growth goals and adopt an inclusive approach, while unveiling new proposals to combat the drug-terror nexus, elevate healthcare preparedness and institutionalise traditional knowledge across the G20 bloc.
Addressing the opening of the G20 Leaders’ Meeting, Modi said the international community must urgently challenge longstanding assumptions of progress and develop stronger instruments to safeguard societies from emerging threats. “Now is the right moment for us to revisit our development parameters and focus on growth that is inclusive and sustainable,” he told the session titled ‘Inclusive and sustainable economic growth leaving no one behind.’
Underscoring the dangers posed by synthetic narcotics, Modi argued that drug cartels and extremist networks had become intertwined. He said India had put forward the proposal for a G20 Initiative on Countering the Drug-Terror Nexus to confront this overlap and disrupt its financing channels. “Let us weaken the wretched drug-terror economy,” he urged leaders.
Modi also proposed assembling trained medical teams drawn from G20 countries who could be dispatched instantly during health emergencies and natural disasters. He called it the G20 Global Healthcare Response Team, saying, “We are stronger when we work together in the face of health emergencies and natural disasters.”
The prime minister added that India envisioned a knowledge-based conservation effort through a Global Traditional Knowledge Repository, which would collect and protect systems that reflect ecological balance and social wellbeing. “India has a rich history in this regard,” Modi said in a post on X, noting that such a platform could help transmit traditional wisdom essential for health and wellness.
He further observed that Africa’s development was fundamental to international prosperity. Modi proposed the G20-Africa Skills Multiplier Initiative as a mechanism to build capacity across the continent. “India has always stood in solidarity with Africa. I am proud of the fact that it was during India’s G20 Presidency that the African Union became a permanent G20 member,” he noted. He added that “our collective goal should be to create one million certified trainers in Africa within the next decade.”
Modi said the ideas presented by India were aimed at ensuring that the benefits of growth are shared fairly, while protecting vulnerable regions from complex challenges fuelled by terror, drugs and health crises.
