G20 Leaders Summit: At the suggestions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is set to host the G20 Summit again on November 22, Wednesday. Notably, this will be the virtual summit where world leaders will join the meeting via video call. The meeting is considered crucial as it will be held at a time when the world has been witnessing dual conflicts-- the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war.
According to the sources of the news agency PTI, the challenges facing the Global South are among the key issues which are set to figure at the G20 Leaders Summit that will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At the end of the G20 summit in New Delhi in September, India announced that it would hold a virtual meeting of the leaders of the grouping before the end of its presidency.
No joint outcome document
India has already sent invitations to leaders of the G20 member nations for the virtual summit. It is learnt that India will focus on its development agenda for the grouping with a focus on challenges being faced by the Global South or the developing countries. There will be no joint outcome document at the end of the summit.
Diplomatic sources said the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict are set to figure at the deliberations. However, India is expected to focus on its development agenda including initiatives in areas of digital public infrastructure, climate finance and clean energy.
In the last few years, India has been positioning itself as a leading voice, flagging concerns, challenges and aspirations of the Global South or the developing nations, especially the African continent. In a related development, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday hosted envoys of the G20 nations at the India International Convention Centre (IICC), named Yashobhoomi, in Dwarka.
In the interactions, he thanked the G20 member nations for their "wholehearted" support of India's presidency of the grouping. "Delighted to host Ambassadors of G20 members, guest countries and international organisations at Yashobhoomi convention centre today. Thanked them for their whole-hearted support during our Presidency," Jaishankar said on 'X'.
"Like our G20 Presidency, this state-of-the-art convention and expo centre reflects the capabilities of Bharat. Confident it will be a great venue for prestigious international events in the times to come," he said.
G20 joint declaration
The G20 joint declaration unveiled on September 9 was seen as a significant diplomatic victory for India as it pulled off a breakthrough on the contentious Ukraine conflict amid apprehensions that the summit may not be able to release the document in view of sharp differences on the matter.
As the G20 president, India has been focusing on issues like inclusive growth, digital innovation, climate resilience, and equitable global health access with an aim to benefit the Global South.
The G20 member countries represent around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population. The grouping comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU).
The African Union was inducted as the new member of the G20 at the New Delhi summit.
