The stage is set for the 18th G-20 Summit to be held in New Delhi from tomorrow. Several Global leaders arrived in the national capital to attend the Summit. They include US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, President of Argentina Alberto Fernandez, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi Sultan of Oman Haitham Bin Tarik, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The visiting dignitaries were given a rousing welcome at the airport with traditional Indian Folk Dances and Music. Several issues ranging from food and energy security to clean energy transition and climate change are expected to be deliberated at length by the world’s leading economies during the two-day G-20 Summit.
India is leveraging its G-20 Presidency to establish itself as a global powerhouse, advocating for the hopes and aspirations of many developing nations. One of the key takeaways of India’s G20 Presidency is the revolutionization of Digital Payment Infrastructure. Briefing media in New Delhi today, G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said very few people knew about Digital Payment Infrastructure earlier, but it has been taken forward extensively. He further said that the Digital Payment Infrastructure has been widely accepted as a way to bring financial inclusion. He also said that the New Delhi Leaders Declaration is almost ready and will be recommended to the leaders during the G-20 Summit. In the pre-summit briefing, Mr Kant said the Leaders’ Declaration will be the voice of the global south and developing countries. He also spoke about the key priorities for India’s G20 presidency, which included sustainable development goals and climate action.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said that India expects the summit proceedings to take a suitable decision on the inclusion of the African Union in the G-20 block. In response to a question on the Ukraine conflict holding up an agreement on the New Delhi Declaration, Mr Kwatra said, India’s expectation is that all G20 members will move towards a consensus and India is hopeful of a consensus on the communique.
G-20 Chief Coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla said, India’s presidency will bring economic benefits to the country as the G20 meetings and activities included extensive participation of people from across the nation. He said, India received a total of one lakh visitors for the G 20 presidency from over 125 nationalities and for many of them this has been a discovery of a new India.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed confidence that the New Delhi G-20 Summit will chart a new path in human-centric and inclusive development. In a social media post, he highlighted that India’s G20 Presidency has been inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action-oriented.
On the sidelines of the G-20 meeting, Prime Minister Modi will also hold bilateral meetings with leaders of different countries. Today, he held bilateral meetings with US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at his residence today.
Akashvani correspondent reports that Prime Minister Modi had productive talks with Bangladeshi Prime Minister on diversifying the India-Bangladesh bilateral cooperation. The leaders agreed to strengthen ties in various sectors including connectivity, culture and people-to-people ties. In his meeting with Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Jugnauth who is a key partner integral to India’s vision SAGAR. Both leaders enthusiastically acknowledged the significant enhancement of the India-Mauritius bilateral relationship, commemorating its remarkable 75th anniversary this year. Tomorrow, in addition to the G20 meetings, the Prime Minister will hold bilateral meetings with leaders from the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany and Italy. On Sunday, Mr Modi will hold a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. He will do a pull -aside meeting with Canada, and bilateral meetings with Comoros, Türkiye, UAE, South Korea, European Union, European Commission, Brazil and Nigeria.
