NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for Bali on Monday to attend the 17th G20 Summit (November 15-16). At the crucial platform, he is likely to have bilateral talks with US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Besides, there are also other bilaterals that are slated to happen between Modi and other participating leaders.
The closing session of the Summit will see the handing over of the G20 Presidency to India. PM Modi will have close to 20 engagements during the two days that he will spend in Indonesia. “There will be three major working sessions in the G20 which would focus firstly on food and energy security, second on health and the third will be on digital transformation,” said Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Sunday.
G20 Leaders will deliberate extensively on key issues of global concern under the theme of ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’. “During the Summit, PM Modi and other G20 leaders will deliberate extensively upon key issues of contemporary relevance, including the state of global economy, issues relating to energy, environment, agriculture, health and digital transformation,” Kwatra added.
In the light of the conflict in Ukraine and the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, there will be a lot of discussion on the conflict by all world leaders attending the Summit. “India has consistently held a balanced line on the conflict, advocating for a stop to the armed conflict and urging both sides to come to the dialogue table,” Kwatra added.
The G20 deliberations have acquired a greater salience in the current global economic and political context --- with existing environmental challenges, the lack of progress in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the pandemic.
These include uneven post-pandemic economic recovery, debt vulnerabilities especially in the countries of the global south, the ongoing conflict in Europe, and its knock-on effect, such as food security challenges, energy crisis, and inflation in all countries of the world. G20 leaders will discuss these challenges and underscore the importance of closer multilateral cooperation to help overcome these challenges.
Meanwhile, on November 16, a leaders’ visit is planned to Taman Hutan Raya, a mangrove forest in Bali.
“As you know, mangroves are an important refuge of coastal biodiversity and act as bio shields against extreme climatic events and as important carbon sinks. India’s own mangrove cover is significant, with one of the highest biodiversity in the world. We also recently agreed to join the Global Mangrove Alliance, which was launched jointly by Indonesia and UAE,” Kwatra added.
The G20 comprises 19 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the USA and the European Union (EU).
Together, they account for over 80 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade and two-thirds of the world population.
Indonesia's term as G20 president ends with this summit with India now set to take over from December 1.