G20 virtual meet to be hosted by India on Nov 22

New Delhi: Several key subjects will be discussed at the virtual G20 leaders' summit on November 22, which will be headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including the war in Russia and Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war and the difficulties facing the Global South, according to persons with knowledge of the situation on Tuesday.

India declared at the close of the G20 summit in New Delhi in September that it will host a virtual summit of the group's leaders before the end of its leadership.

India has already sent invitations to leaders of the G20 member nations for the virtual summit.

It is learnt that India will focus on its development agenda for the grouping with a focus on challenges being faced by the Global South or the developing countries.

There will be no joint outcome document at the end of the summit.

Diplomatic sources said the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict are set to figure at the deliberations.

However, India is expected to focus on its development agenda including initiatives in areas of digital public infrastructure, climate finance and clean energy.

In the last few years, India has been positioning itself as a leading voice, flagging concerns, challenges and aspirations of the Global South or the developing nations, especially the African continent.

In a related development, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday hosted envoys of the G20 nations at the India International Convention Centre (IICC), named Yashobhoomi, in Dwarka.

In the interactions, he thanked the G20 member nations for their “whole-hearted” support to India’s presidency of the grouping.

“Delighted to host Ambassadors of G20 members, guest countries and international organisations at Yashobhoomi convention centre today. Thanked them for their whole-hearted support during our Presidency,” Jaishankar said on ‘X’.

“Like our G20 Presidency, this state-of-the-art convention and expo centre reflects the capabilities of Bharat. Confident it will be a great venue for prestigious international events in the times to come,” he said.

The G20 joint declaration unveiled on September 9 was seen as a significant diplomatic victory for India as it pulled off a breakthrough on the contentious Ukraine conflict amid apprehensions that the summit may not be able to release the document in view of sharp differences on the matter.

As the G20 president, India has been focusing on issues like inclusive growth, digital innovation, climate resilience, and equitable global health access with an aim to benefit the Global South.

The G20 member countries 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.

The grouping comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU).

The African Union was inducted as the new member of the G20 at the New Delhi summit.

With PTI inputs