G20 vows action on terrorism, climate; AU gets membership
NEW DELHI, September 9, 2023
Leaders of the world's 20 most powerful nations began their annual G20 summit in India's capital New Delhi today, with a pledge to look for concrete solutions to terrorism, climate change, supply chains and cyber security and granting permanent membership to the African Union in an effort to make it more representative.
Welcoming the world leaders for the G20 Summit —One Earth at the Bharat Mandapam, a new $300 million conch-shaped convention centre opposite a 16th-century stone fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his opening remarks said the 21st century is a time of giving new direction to the world.
"This is a time when age-old challenges are calling for new solutions from us. And therefore, with a human-centric approach, we have to move forward to fulfil our responsibilities," stated the Indian PM.
"After Covid-19, there is a big crisis of trust deficit in the world. The war has deepened this trust deficit. When we can defeat Covid we can also achieve victory over this trust deficit crisis. As G20 president, India appeals to the world to change this global trust deficit into confidence on each other. It is a time to walk together," said Modi as he welcomed US President Joe Biden, UK PM Rishi Sunak, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Japan PM Fumio Kishida, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as well as other world leaders including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud who is on a state visit to India till September 11 is also attending the G20 Summit.
Modi earlier welcomed world leaders and foreign delegates as they arrived at Bharat Mandapam for the summit which began amid divisions in the grouping over the Russia-Ukraine war and China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific and the South China Sea.
However, sources have confimed that negotiators from G20 countries are heading towards a landing zone on the Ukraine conflict after talks that lasted well beyond midnight and a breakthrough is in sight over the contentious issues, reported Times of India.
After days of intense negotiations among sherpas circulated a revised paragraph over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which is said to have found favour among the G20 membership, said the sources.
Earlier today, Modi called upon the group to "have to look at concrete solutions to terrorism, climate change, supply chains and cyber security."
However, before the start of the G20 proceedings, PM Modi expressed condolences over the loss of lives due to an earthquake in Morocco.
"We pray that all injured recover at the earliest. India is ready to offer all possible assistance to Morocco in this difficult time," he stated.
President Biden arrived in New Delhi yesterday (September 8) for the summit where he will present the US as an economic and strategic counterweight to China and Russia, taking advantage of the absence of leaders from those two countries.
Biden has brought with him the promise of up to $200 billion in new development funds for climate change, food security, public health and other infrastructure needs in less developed countries through revamped international financing institutions like the World Bank, leveraged by a relatively small investment by the US.
Yesterday, PM Modi and Biden in a one-to-one meeting reaffirmed their commitment to “deepen and diversify” their already expansive “major defence partnership” through expanded cooperation in new and emerging domains such as space and artificial intelligence (AI) as well as accelerated defence-industrial collaboration, which includes joint production of jet engines.
The joint statement after the Modi-Biden meeting also welcomed the completion of the US Congress’s notification process and the commencement of commercial negotiations between GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics to jointly manufacture GE-414 jet engines in India — with 80% transfer of technology — for the indigenous Tejas Mark-2 fighters.
The leaders lauded the settlement of the seventh and last outstanding World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute between the two countries.
Prime Minister Modi and Sunak discussed negotiations on a UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and agreed that both sides will continue working towards it.
The bilateral meeting took place on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. This is Modi’s first meeting with Sunak after the latter took over as the UK PM.
A statement issued by the UK government said the leaders had a productive conversation about negotiations on a UK-India Free Trade Agreement.
It stated that Sunak reiterated the UK’s ambition to deliver a landmark trade deal that benefits businesses and workers in both countries and grows bilateral trade in both goods and services.
This year's G20 theme is a global roadmap for inclusiveness with the sense of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vishwaas.'
This was endorsed by President Droupadi Murmu too who tweeted: "India's G20 Presidency theme, 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - One Earth, One Family, One Future', is a global roadmap for sustainable, inclusive, and human-centric development. I wish the participants of G20 Summit every success in their efforts towards realising this vision."
The Prime Minister told the gathering that it had become a people’s G20 in India with over 200 events held in more than 60 cities.
"India's G20 presidency has become a symbol of inclusion, of 'sabka saath' both inside and outside the country. This has become people's G20 in India. Crores of Indians are connected to this. In more than 60 cities of the country, more than 200 meetings have taken place. With the sense of 'Sabka Saath', India had proposed that the African Union be granted permanent membership of G20. I believe that all of us agree to this proposal."
It was a landmark moment today, when the summit of the world's powerful nations became G21 with the President of the Union of Comoros and chairperson of the African Union (AU) Azali Assoumani taking his seat as a permanent member of the G20.
"With everyone's approval, I request the AU head to take his seat as a permanent G20 member," Modi said in the opening address to the summit, with the African bloc's head then joining the other world leaders.
India’s move of including the African Union as a member of G20 in June this year has paid off, amplifying the voice of Global South. The grouping that represents 55 countries was admitted as a new member of the G20, reported The Indian Express.
While China has had a head start in Africa, India has pitched itself as a leader of the developing and underdeveloped countries. This is also in sync with India’s aspiration for permanent membership of the UNSC, for which New Delhi is keen to garner support from Africa, which has 55 votes.
The idea was floated in June this year, when Modi wrote to G20 leaders to propose that the African Union be given “full membership at the upcoming Delhi Summit of G20, as requested by them”.
Sources said the idea germinated after the ‘Voice of the Global South’ summit in January this year, in which most of the African continent’s 55 countries had participated.
The discussions were carried forward in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, which houses the headquarters of the African Union. So far there was only one country from the entire African continent in the G20 – South Africa.
A key highlight of the summit will be the announcement of a grand shipping and rail transportation corridor that President Joe Biden and his allies plan to roll out today that would connect India with the Middle East and ultimately Europe — a possible game changer for global trade.
The proposed memorandum of understanding for a shipping and rail transportation corridor would include the United States, India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the European Union and other countries in the G20, said Jon Finer, the president's deputy national security adviser.
Biden and PM Modi plan to announce the project as part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment. The rail and shipping corridor would enable greater trade among the countries, including energy products. It could also be one of the more ambitious counters to China's own belt and road initiative that sought to connect more of the world to that country's economy.
According to media reports, G20 leaders are expected to announced the Global Biofuel Alliance today.
Modi will be holding more than 15 bilateral meetings over the next two days.
On the menu for the dinner, the G20 India special secretary Muktesh Pardeshi said efforts have been made to present the "diversity of the culinary heritage of India" to the world leaders at the ceremonial G20 dinner.
World leaders in India for the G20 summit will be treated to an elaborate all-vegetarian menu of traditional “sharad ritu” – season of abundance – dishes at Bharat Mandapam on Saturday, reported Times of India, elaborating on the mouthwatering line-up.
ITC Hotels, which is catering for the two-day VVIP summit, is learnt to have included items that “showcase the wealth of ingredients across Bharat in autumn, the season of abundance,” including tandoori aloo, kurkuri bhindi, zafrani gucchi pulao and paneer tilwala, for lunch. Dinner, say sources, will have starters like paatram – millet leaf crisps topped with dahi and chutney (chaat).
The main course will have dishes like vanavarnam – jackfruit galette with glazed forest mushroom, millet and Kerala red rice – and breads including Mumbai pao. Desserts will have madhurima, which is cardamom-scented barnyard millet pudding, figpeach compote and ambemohar rice crisps with milk and wheat nuts. Beverages will include a choice of Kashmiri kahwa, filter coffee, Darjeeling tea and paan flavoured chocolates.
