At the G20 Summit in Bali, where Indonesia will hand over the chairmanship of the gathering of the world’s 20 largest countries to India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will discuss New Delhi’s stance on food and energy security, health, and digital transformation.
On November 15–16, Modi will attend the annual summit alongside world leaders like US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and French President Emmanuel Macron. The G20’s differences over the Ukraine war are reflected in Russia’s announcement that President Vladimir Putin will not attend and that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will lead the mission.
The heads of the G20 members are anticipated to discuss important topics like the state of the global economy, environment and climate change, and agriculture during the summit’s three working sessions for the leaders, which will be devoted to food and energy security, health, and digital transformation.
India will take over the G20 presidency in Bali. The G20 includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union. It accounts for 85% of the world’s GDP and more than 75% of its trade.
As Sunak stated on Sunday, the G20 Summit “will not be business as usual” and that he intended to “call out Putin’s administration,” tensions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are expected to dominate the gathering. Teams from all the G20 countries have been working hard over the past few days to come to agreement on a unified communiqué that would be released at the conclusion of the summit, but consensus has been held up by a draught that makes reference to the conflict in Ukraine.
The G20’s current president, Indonesia, has demonstrated “strong leadership in ensuring the G20 discusses issues of substantive interest,” according to India’s foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra, who stated at a press conference on Sunday that India has always actively engaged with all of the group’s members. India has also extended “steadfast and strong support” to Indonesia.
The CoVid-19 pandemic, lack of progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and other issues are all factors in the context of the Bali summit, as well as the uneven post-pandemic economic recovery, debt vulnerabilities, particularly in developing countries, the conflict in Ukraine and its effects on inflation, food and energy security, and other issues, according to Kwatra.
He stated that the Indian side is anticipated to maintain the focus on the difficulties faced by developing nations, the “ongoing uncertainty related to energy security,” the demand for an international response to climate concerns, and the security of food and health. According to him, these goals also offer opportunities, such as the opportunity to employ digital tools and platforms to deliver governance in an effective and transparent manner.
Although there was no formal indication on the bilateral meetings the Indian prime minister will have outside of the summit, persons with knowledge of the situation said he would likely meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Sunak, Macron, and other world leaders. According to the people, Modi is not anticipated to meet Xi.
Without providing any information, Kwatra stated that bilateral meetings with a number of G20 leaders are “still in the process of being organised.” Additionally, Modi will extend invitations to G20 leaders to visit India for the September 2023 meeting in New Delhi. India will hold the G20 presidency this year, and its priorities will be sustainable development, Mission LiFE, digital transformation, inclusive and resilient growth, women-led development, and giving poor nations more clout.
He said that the talks on the unified communiqué were still ongoing and that the sherpa-led Indian team was in Bali for these talks. The negotiations for the communiqué are very far along, but it is still not final at this point… The G20 communiqué was created by consensus; it was not put to a vote, he added.
The communiqué is the result of meetings that lasted for a full year, including at least 12 ministerial meetings over the previous six months. “Whether [it is the Ukraine crisis] or its ripple effect, the political environment of what’s occurring in the world plays a part in it. It remains to be seen how it ultimately manifests itself in the communiqué,” he remarked.
Due to disagreements regarding the Ukraine crisis, consensus outcome documents have been absent from the majority of preparatory meetings this year. In July, Lavrov even left a meeting of the G20 foreign ministers. In recent weeks, worries have grown that a joint communiqué may not be made in Bali. Putin has not been invited, according to Russia, but there have been reports that the G20 leaders won’t be taking their customary group photo at the summit’s start.
In 2023, India will work to steer the G20 agenda in a “representative and balanced manner,” according to Kwatra, who also noted that all developing economies will be represented for the first time in the G20 Troika, which includes the current, incoming, and following presidencies of Indonesia, India, and Brazil.
On November 16, the G20 leaders are scheduled to visit a mangrove forest in Bali to emphasise the significance of mangroves serving as bioshields against extreme weather events. On November 15, Modi will take part in a gathering with the Indian community.
