India will highlight its “unwavering commitment” to collectively tackling global challenges at the G20 Summit and its leadership of the grouping in 2023 will emphasise equitable growth and a shared future for all, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.
In a departure statement ahead of his visit to Bali, Indonesia, for the G20 Summit, Modi said he will have extensive discussions with other G20 leaders on key issues of global concern, including reviving global growth, food and energy security, the environment, health and digital transformation.
“During my interactions at the G20 Summit, I will highlight India’s achievements, and our unwavering commitment to collectively address global challenges,” he said.
“India’s G20 Presidency will be grounded in the theme ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ or ‘One Earth One Family One Future’, which underlines the message of equitable growth and shared future for all.”
Modi will visit Bali during November 14-16 to participate in the summit of the leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies. The presidency of G20 will be handed over by Indonesia to India at the conclusion of the summit.
“In a significant moment for our country and citizens, President of Indonesia Joko Widodo will hand over the G20 Presidency to India at the closing ceremony of the Bali Summit,” he said.
“India will officially assume the G20 Presidency from 1st December 2022. I will also extend my personal invitation to G20 Members and other invitees to our G20 Summit next year,” he added.
Modi said he will meet the leaders of several other participating countries on the sidelines of the G20 Summit and review the progress in India’s bilateral relations with them. He will also address the Indian community in Bali at a reception on November 15.
The prime minister will join world leaders such as US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron at the annual summit. Russia has announced that President Vladimir Putin will not attend and the country’s delegation will be led by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov – a reflection of the divisions within G20 over the Ukraine conflict.
The summit will have three working sessions for the G20 leaders devoted to food and energy security, health, and digital transformation, and they are expected to discuss key issues such as the state of the global economy, environment and climate change and agriculture.
The G20 brings together Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union, and represents 85% of global GDP and more than 75% of global trade.
The tensions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are set to loom large over the meeting, with Sunak saying ahead of his departure for Bali that he intends to “call out Putin’s regime” at the G20 Summit, which “will not be business as usual”. Over the past few days, teams from all the G20 members have been struggling to finalise a joint communiqué to be issued at the end of the summit, with consensus held up over a reference to the Ukraine war in the draft document.