PM Narendra Modi to join G20 Summit during Nov 21-22

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join leaders of the G20 for the grouping’s virtual summit during November 21-22, with the top item on the agenda being an inclusive and sustainable recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

This will be the third summit this month after the meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (Brics) grouping where Modi and President Xi Jinping will share the same online platform amid the India-China border standoff.

Saudi Arabia is the current chair of G20, and India is set to take over the presidency in 2022. India will enter the G20 troika with Saudi Arabia when Italy takes over the G20 presidency on December 1. The theme for this year’s summit is “Realising the opportunities of the 21st century for all”.

“The focus of the upcoming G20 Summit, being held amid the Covid-19 pandemic, will be on an inclusive, resilient and sustainable recovery from Covid-19,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said on Thursday.

“During the summit, the leaders will discuss pandemic preparedness and ways and means to restore jobs. The leaders will also share their vision for building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future.”

This is the second meeting of the G20 leaders this year, after the extraordinary leaders’ summit held in March to discuss measures to contain the pandemic and to forge a coordinated global response.

Saudi Arabia said in a statement on Thursday that the pandemic has revealed vulnerabilities in the capacity to prevent, detect and respond to pandemic threats worldwide. Vulnerable groups, including women, young people and low-income communities, have been disproportionately impacted, while the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative has benefited 46 low-income countries.

G20 countries have injected more than $11 trillion to support the global economy and bridged the health funding gap with $21 billion to enhance pandemic preparedness and response, the statement said.

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