PM Modi’s Five-Nation Visit: Strengthening India’s Global South Outreach

India’s Global South Outreach Latest News

• PM Modi began a five-nation tour from July 2 to 9, 2025, covering Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia.

Ghana Visit

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit marks the first bilateral trip by an Indian PM to Ghana in three decades. It is also his first visit to the country.
• India is the largest destination for Ghanaian exports, with gold making up over 70% of India’s imports from Ghana. 
• A proposal for a vaccine manufacturing hub and digital initiatives highlights India’s COVID-era goodwill, but the presence of China and the EU makes execution competitive and difficult.

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Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) Visit

• PM Modi’s visit marks his first to Trinidad & Tobago and the first bilateral visit by an Indian PM in over two decades.
• Around 40–45% of the Indian diaspora in the Caribbean resides in T&T. 
  • Both PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar and President Christine Carla Kangaloo are of Indian origin. 
• The visit also commemorates 180 years since the arrival of Indian immigrants in T&T.
• India-T&T bilateral trade reached $341.61 million in FY 2024–25, indicating steady economic growth and deepening commercial relations.
• This is PM Modi’s second visit to the Caribbean in eight months, following his trip to Guyana in November 2024, reflecting India’s strategic focus on the region.
• Despite this, critics argue that diaspora engagement has yet to translate into meaningful economic or tech collaboration.

Argentina Visit

• PM Modi’s visit is the first bilateral trip by an Indian PM to Argentina in 57 years. 
• He will hold talks with President Javier Milei, following their earlier meeting at the G20 Summit in 2024.
• India-Argentina ties have grown notably in the mineral resources sector, especially lithium—crucial for India’s green energy goals. Argentina also supplies soybean and sunflower oil to India.
• India ranked as Argentina’s fifth-largest trading partner and export destination in 2024, underscoring the growing economic significance of the partnership.
• However, political instability under President Javier Milei raises concerns about long-term consistency.

Brazil Visit

• PM Modi will attend the BRICS Leaders’ Summit, where he will meet President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
• Following the summit, PM Modi will undertake a State Visit to Brasilia. He will hold detailed talks with President Lula to deepen the India-Brazil Strategic Partnership.
• Brazil remains India’s largest trading partner in South America, underscoring the importance of the relationship.
• Still, internal power imbalances—especially China’s assertiveness—pose limitations.

Namibia Visit

• PM Modi’s trip marks his first visit to Namibia and only the third by an Indian Prime Minister.
• Bilateral trade has surged from under $3 million in 2000 to nearly $600 million in 2025. Indian investments span mining, manufacturing, diamond processing, and services.
• The visit recalls the historic 2022 translocation of eight Namibian cheetahs to India’s Kuno National Park—marking the world’s first intercontinental relocation of a major carnivore species.
• The visit combines digital diplomacy (launching UPI) and environmental soft power (conservation discussions post-cheetah translocation). 
• However, India enters a digital investment space already crowded by other global powers.

India’s Global South Outreach: Challenges

• PM Modi has embarked on an eight-day, five-nation tour covering three continents.
• This visit aims to strengthen India’s diplomatic and economic engagement with the Global South, reflecting India’s aspiration to lead among postcolonial, developing nations.

Championing the Global South: Aspirations vs. Execution

• India has long positioned itself as a voice for the Global South, notably through the 2023 Voice of the Global South Summit. 
• However, turning aspirational leadership into actionable, sustainable outcomes remains a significant challenge.

Modest Scale and Follow-Through Deficit

• India’s developmental outreach, while ambitious, often lacks the institutional scale and execution strength seen in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 
• Initiatives announced frequently suffer from poor follow-through in infrastructure and trade facilitation.

Overreliance on Soft Power

• Cultural and diaspora diplomacy are important tools but risk becoming hollow without accompanying economic programs. 

Conclusion

• This tour lays the foundation for new partnerships in critical minerals, digital public goods, climate action, and vaccine production. 
• It may also signal the emergence of “Modi Doctrine 3.0” – a foreign policy approach centered on Global South solidarity, technology-led diplomacy, and institutional reform.

Source: IE | TD | FP