The White House said that President Joe Biden will attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi on September 9–10 despite testing negative for COVID-19 once more. According to senior US officials, the US President will go to India on Thursday for the summit and meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi individually on Friday.
“The President will go to New Delhi on Thursday to attend the G20 leaders’ summit. US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan informed reporters at a White House press briefing that President Biden will take part in a bilateral discussion with Prime Minister Modi on Friday and that he will attend the official sessions of the G20 summit on Saturday and Sunday.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre added that during his visit to India, President Biden will follow the Covid-19 guidelines of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“He [Biden] is not experiencing any symptoms as far as the steps that he is taking since the President was with the First Lady yesterday. He will be masking while indoors and around people in alignment with CDC guidance,” Jean-Pierre said.
Before departing for New Delhi, the US President and all other travelers will retake the test, she noted.
The declaration comes the day after 72-year-old First Lady Jill Biden revealed a positive Covid-19 test on Monday. Following his wife’s positive test, Biden, 80, underwent viral testing on Monday and Tuesday, but the findings were negative for him.
The US President responded “Yes, I am” when asked by reporters if he was looking forward to his trips to India.
As Biden travels to the G20 conference, NSA Jake Sullivan said that “he is committed to working with emerging market partners to deliver big things together.”
“That’s what we believe the world will see in New Delhi this weekend. The United States’ commitment to the G-20 hasn’t wavered and we hope this G-20 summit will show that the world’s major economies can work together even in challenging times,” Sullivan said.
The US will concentrate its efforts at the G20 summit on “delivering for developing countries, making progress on key priorities for the American people, from climate to technology, and demonstrating our commitment to the G20 as a forum that can actually deliver,” he continued.
In order to help low- and middle-income countries regain their footing after years of great stress, President Biden will also be urging G20 members to act as leaders in the global economy by offering real debt relief, according to Sullivan.
The G20 Summit will take place in New Delhi, India, on September 9 and 10. Member countries of the influential grouping 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.
